Outside the villa, amid the scenic banquet grounds.
After Jiang Xia received the doctors' business cards and memorized the addresses, phone numbers, and names on them, he stopped mingling with the aloof guests.
He filled a wineglass with cola, then remained in a corner of the venue and continued carrying out his commission.
—President Ichikawa's attitude was somewhat strange. This Riddler seemed to prefer keeping detectives in the corner of the party. Whenever Jiang Xia tried to enter the villa, the butler stopped him.
So Jiang Xia went through the motions as well. He took out a notebook, recalled the conversation between the two Miss Ichikawas, and recorded it point by point, planning to hand it to the client later and call it a job well done.
Before long, the servants had set up the outdoor stage.
President Ichikawa soon stepped onto the stage and picked up the microphone.
"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my birthday banquet. This time, I mainly have something to inform you of—I plan to step down as president in the near future. In other words, I am retiring.
"Next, I will sell all the shares under my name, as well as the company's operating rights, to Asahi Industries."
"..."
The venue fell deathly silent.
A moment later, whispers exploded into an uproar. Amid the clamorous voices, someone could not help asking loudly, "Then what about us?"
—A large portion of those attending the party today were relatives somehow connected to President Ichikawa. Originally, some of them could have gotten a share of the inheritance.
"What about you?" President Ichikawa repeated mockingly, then gave a derisive laugh. "That is difficult to explain in detail, but one thing is certain—I will not let any of you here get