King of Capital

Chapter 461: Pitfalls Everywhere
"I want to make it clear in advance that no matter what the facts are, they have nothing to do with me."

Mark Mellon hurried into the Hollywood hilltop villa. The party was over and the hall was a mess. He stepped carefully over the empty wine bottles and raised his hands over his shoulders to show his innocence without saying much.

Xie Jingxing sat at the bar with an expressionless face, holding an ice pack against his left cheek, the redness and swelling at the corner of his mouth was very eye-catching.

"Sorry, we need to check."

Chen Xi smelled the strong smell of marijuana, clenched his palms and held his breath. Two bodyguards in black suits immediately stepped forward and searched him.

Mark Mellon immediately raised his voice: "Hey, stay away from me and don't give me this. I said this has nothing to do with me!"

He was so angry that he jumped up and down, but Xie Jingxing remained indifferent. The bodyguards looked back awkwardly with their hands tied between their legs. After receiving Chen Xi's cold warning eyes, they could only move forward helplessly.

Even if you have no loyalty to your temporary employer and are charging thousands of dollars per hour, you still need a little professional ethics.

Mark Mellon's skinny body was sandwiched between two strong men like a delicious hot dog. He yelled and cursed, his eyes were red and he threatened fiercely with all his anger: "Xie, you offended me, you will become the enemy of the Mellon family, I swear!"

"Mark, I graduated from Columbia University." Xie Jingxing finally responded.

The bodyguards looked at each other in a fake manner, and Mark pushed them away, breathing heavily and foaming at the mouth: "Come on, don't test me in this way, I'm fucking innocent!"

"A powerful Hollywood figure invited her to a party in Hollywood Hills, she told me herself." Xie Jingxing did not comment.

Columbia University is a prestigious Ivy League school, the birthplace of left-wing thought on American campuses, and a gathering place for the children of the ancient North American elite.

A private fraternity with real influence connects the inside and outside, selects new blood from the ivory tower organization, and then graduates are promoted to social-level organizations after assessment.

As the heir to a giant enterprise in the domestic agricultural sector, he had the opportunity to see flowers in the fog while in school. If he wants to really push open this door, he needs to complete a ceremony that is similar to what just happened.

"Clap."

Xie Jingxing threw down the ice pack, flicked away the new ice pack that Chen Xi handed over, grabbed two cubes of ice from the red wine ice bucket and stuffed them into his mouth.

Even if you haven't eaten pork, you have seen pigs run. Mark Mellon has a history of taking drugs at Yu Tong's Long Island beach villa. Plus, there are only a few people who know his whereabouts tonight, so it's hard not to be suspicious.

“Maybe you understand how ‘those levels’ work, but you don’t understand Hollywood.”

Mark Mellon leaned over and swung his arms to clear a corner of the island, took out his phone and threw it on the countertop: "Let me tell you what I would do if it were me."

"I would call a friend in Hollywood and ask him for a small favor, and he would choose to call the right female celebrity and ask: Can you help me host a friend who wants to experience a Hollywood date?"

"If she comes, I will pay her. If she doesn't come, she will lose job opportunities from my friends. Her fame will decline and she will lose more opportunities. Her income will decline and her status will decline again. It will be a vicious cycle until she is completely kicked out of Hollywood."

He paused for a moment and added calmly, "You may refuse, but that's okay. There are always female stars in Hollywood who can impress you. After all, female stars all over the world want to be here."

"Instead of going to great lengths to create all kinds of coincidences and using an audition opportunity to seduce a third-rate British actress! The powerful person in her cognition is probably a director. Fuck, this is called a powerful person?!"

Mark Mellon became more and more agitated as he spoke about the misfortune he had suffered, and he gritted his teeth and said that if Vanessa was in front of him at this moment, he would eat her alive.

Creating two encounters in a row would not have been possible if Xie Jingxing did not cooperate at all.

The key point is that this woman herself stated that she was invited by a powerful person. In other words, she herself was not the conspiracy maker, so what would happen even if it succeeded?

Then let her turn against him and call the police to get evidence against Xie Jingxing. The logical chain here is longer than his grandmother's life. No one in the world has the magical power to do this. If there is, this conspirator can just go and speculate in the stock market. Why bother to plot against others!
"Did she tell you the name of her powerful man?" Mark Mellon took a deep breath to calm himself and ease the tense atmosphere.

"She was stunned for a long time, then she swung her arm and slapped me, pushed the door open, got out of the car, raised her middle finger and kicked the tire, kicked off her shoe heel, and limped away."

Xie Jingxing spoke unclearly while holding an ice cube in his mouth. His tongue tip was numb and accidentally touched the corner of his mouth, causing him to gasp in pain.

Chen Xi was distressed. He was brutally beaten during his affair, which was an unprecedented event in history.

"How hot! Is she a martial arts actress?"

Mark Mellon was silent for a moment, then laughed dryly, raised his hands and rubbed his cheeks vigorously: "Thanks, this may be a trap."

"But the fact is that every minute you spend in the United States, you are facing a 'situation'. If yellow-skinned people want to succeed in the white world, they have to work ten times harder than black people."

Memories of hanging out in the slums in his youth flashed through his mind under the influence of marijuana, and he made an inexplicably deep confession.

At first, the virtual currency company that the two parties cooperated in developed very well due to its first-mover advantage and strong strength.

As several invested currencies and platforms grew rapidly and achieved gratifying returns, Mark Mellon gradually felt that Xie Jingxing had no other advantages except for financial and strategic support, and could be replaced or even kicked out to work on his own.

So old friend Marc Anderson took the initiative to come to the door and lobby several times. A few days ago, the two of them were in the audience at the Venture Capitalist House, and they talked about the intention of cooperation.

Mark Mellon deliberately suppressed the growth of the cooperative company while secretly making preparations. He had already decided to break up with Xie Jingxing, but he had no intention of playing any tricks.

It’s only been a few years since the bloody street murders in Manhattan. Business is business. There’s really no need to risk your life with this guy.

“See you in New York in a few days. Our company needs to introduce investment from Anderson’s a16z cryptocurrency fund and take on the role of a strategic investor.”

Mark Mellon responded improvisationally and showed his hand, but when he didn't get a response, he got up and left without taking it seriously, and finally rolled his eyes at Chen Xi in protest.

Xie Jingxing shook his head and spit out the ice water in his mouth. He looked at the time and it was two o'clock in the morning. He took out his cell phone and called Zhou Kaixuan.

The limited social contacts should not concern her. She simply tried to test the waters a few times and agreed to meet the Saudi Crown Prince in New York and asked for Divish Makan's contact information.

Li Ka-shing is a client of this person’s family office.

Zuckerberg's friend reacted a little angrily. He cursed for being disturbed by the midnight phone call, but he also hesitantly agreed to order a midnight takeout for Xie Jingxing.

He has to pay for the prostitution himself. Top Hollywood actresses are very expensive. I will reimburse him after Zuckerberg comes to sign the WhatsApp equity transfer contract tomorrow!

Ah San's true nature has always been so real, so he can basically be ruled out.

Especially when he realized that he was fooled, he was so angry that he bombarded people with phone calls to ask for an explanation, which further confirmed that he had nothing to do with it.

"That's it for now, go to bed early."

Xie Jingxing sat there until dawn, thinking over and over again without being able to get an answer. He sent Chen Xi back to the room to rest, and he himself tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

The case of his apprentice Xiaotian and his wife was too bloody. When he met Bainiu by chance twice, he heard her mention some powerful people and was caught off guard.

It may also be that I am too tired recently and was too sleepy last night, so I would rather have a slap than a romantic encounter.

Xie Jingxing comforted himself, turned over and looked at the head of the bed, picked up a deep sleeping pill and mixed it with wine and water and poured it into his stomach.

Vanessa, the British girl, is really strong, with a solid body and tight skin and muscles; while her fellow countryman named Lily, who was watching the game, is petite, like a porcelain doll suitable for holding and playing...

The drug took effect quickly, and Xie Jingxing's mind was disconnected and a few fragmented thoughts flashed through his mind, and finally stopped at Mark Mellon's words.

Maybe this time it was not an elaborate setup, but the conspiracy was wrapped in the sweet heart of every perfectly presented dessert. Others could eat it without any harm, but he got his stomach broken.

Walking on thin ice, trembling with fear.

…………“Swish.”

Xie Jing Xing suddenly turned over and sat up, trying to move his Adam's apple and swallow his saliva as if he was swallowing a razor blade. He wiped away the cold sweat on his back, and his whole body ached as if he had been beaten up in his sleep.

He sat there silently for a few minutes, then staggered out of bed and opened the door.

"I seem to have a cold and a fever?" he asked for help with difficulty.

Donald Duck suddenly appeared in the cabin. Chen Xi's eyes widened and he quickly stepped forward to help him.

Yesterday morning, when Xie Jingxing was returning to San Francisco from Los Angeles, he had a headache. He thought it was the side effect of the sleep-aid health supplement and didn't take it seriously. As a result, he got sick on the way to New York.

"39 degrees, that's quite auspicious." He pulled out the thermometer from under his armpit and tried to make light of the situation.

The flight attendant was looking for medicine in the medicine box, the chief flight attendant offered some red sugar and shredded ginger to replenish the blood, and another flight attendant took out a coin and said he knew how to do scraping.

Colleagues from the accompanying fundraising team were all stunned, shocked at what kind of ancient oriental witchcraft this was.

Amid the chaos, Chen Xi took it upon himself to arrange for the hospital to send a helicopter to the airport to pick up the guests in advance and to notify them to cancel the morning investor briefing.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Xie Jingxing wanted to refuse, because he wanted to get his job done and return home more quickly than to treat his illness.

Chen Xi held a bowl of brown sugar and ginger water and persuaded softly: "You have donated money to Columbia University Hospital in your personal name. Let's go check it out. It's not hot anymore, try it."

"You're kidding me." Xie Jingxing pursed his cracked lips.

"If you return to China like this, Sister Tong will worry about you when you go on business trips next time. It would be even worse if you infect the children."

Chen Xi changed his angle and continued to coax: "Besides, the postponement of the investor briefing is not for idleness. There is progress in the acquisition of the Premier League club. I asked the Taihe Family Office team to bring the seller to the hospital for a discussion. You can listen in person to see if it suits your taste."

After stroking his hair a few times, Xie Jingxing obediently drank the big bowl of brown sugar water with sweat on his forehead. He mustered up some strength to say something, but felt that it was useless to be pretentious so he just smiled.

During college, many Chinese students gradually drifted towards two extremes: fanatical spiritual converts and fanatical nationalists.

Until today, he considered himself to be in the centrist minority, but now he is inevitably leaning a little bit towards the second extreme, the so-called borderline capital.

…………

You will die if you don't pay for my technical services.

——Hospitals best embody capitalism, and Columbia University Hospital, the second-to-last stop before cardiac surgery patients around the world, fully demonstrates the superiority of capitalism.

The layout of the ward suite is similar to that of the hotel suite. Half of the wall of bookshelves are filled with antique books and oil paintings, which separate the more than 100 square meters into a semi-open space, where conversations in the living room outside can be heard while blocking any visual prying.

Xie Jingxing was lying on his back with a soft pillow and eating a banana. Chen Xi was sitting at the desk next to the bed, hosting an online investor briefing meeting.

"Southampton is the spiritual sustenance of the Liebherr family. Ms. Katharina hopes to inherit her father's last wish and accompany the team through its long rise and fall."

"Can you be more specific, like you want to keep some of your shares?"

"Half a century ago, the Liebherr family rose from southern Germany. Ms. Katharina is the fourth-generation heir of the family. She has just inherited the family business and has limited energy. She has to regretfully give up and look for a buyer who is capable of managing the team."

"You not only want to retain some of your shares, but you also think that although the team's sideline profits are limited, you don't have to sell it if you can't get a good price?"

"Well, sincerity, sincerity is very important. To be honest, running a Premier League team is very expensive, and the buyer needs to prove that he can afford it. Is your boss in it?"

The conversation outside began to stumble. Taihe Family Office handled hundreds of billions of US dollars in US stock transactions. Xie Jingxing kept buying a private island or something. The work team in New York was very capable and was doing well.

We have never tolerated the European guys' nonsense in the first place, and now that the boss is behind the scenes, the team leaders are eager to show their performance and are particularly active in striving for the dominant position.

After eating two bananas, Xie Jingxing waved his hand, borrowed a piece of paper from the nurse, scribbled two sentences and asked her to pass it over.

"What is the team's current debt ratio?" the outsider asked the question after a brief silence.

"Premier League clubs usually invest 50%-70% of their annual revenue in team salaries. In this regard, our operations are relatively standard, and the stadium revenue has maintained a healthy level for a long time."

"I would like to remind you that we have long maintained a global business strategic cooperation with Deloitte. Its headquarters is in London and they are available for on-site audits at any time."

"Liebherr is a well-known refrigerator manufacturer. It has provided technical support to Qingdao Haier in China since the 1980s. Please do not doubt the credibility of the Liebherr family."

"What is the contract status of the core players of the team?"

"…I'm sorry, but I have to say that you are not sincere. Ms. Catalina cannot do business with a buyer who pretends to know something."

"Please."

The negotiations outside ended in a flash. Chen Xi, who was in a meeting, felt a little embarrassed. He wanted to make his boss happy but ended up doing such a rubbish. He quickly went out to have a few words with the person in charge of the family office team.

The voices were so low that I couldn't hear what they were saying. A few minutes later, two people came into the inner room with a tall, handsome middle-aged white man.

"Boss, this is Mr. Richard Albert, the head of the British government's capital investment department in the United States." Chen Xi introduced from the side.

The middle-aged white man cooperated with the greeting, but felt secretly awkward in his heart.

He was fully responsible for attracting dollars to invest in emerging technology industries in the UK. He often met all kinds of monsters and demons, but this was the first time he had ever met a young yellow-skinned man like he was paying homage to the emperor.

It is understandable that he is ranked 30th on the Forbes Global Rich List. His compatriots who are ranked the same as him are received by the Prime Minister wherever they go, so it is not considered a humiliation.

"Mr. Xie, you seem to know a lot about the football business. May I know how long you have been paying attention to the British football industry?" He put on a smile and flattered him.

Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows, and Chen Xi answered for him: "My boss doesn't understand football, sorry, the doctor recommended that he protect his vocal cords."

"..."

The middle-aged white man was confused. His arrogance was understandable, but the main problem was that the small note during the negotiation was obviously written by the boss. The two questions were very tricky and hit the vital points of the Southampton team. Doesn’t he understand football?
“Mr. Richard, I wonder if you have ever heard this saying: When faced with a business transaction you don’t understand, the best way to avoid risk is not to trade, and the second best way is to hand it over to a venture capital company for control. We bought excellent companies in a hundred industries, obviously not because we understand a hundred industries.” Chen Xi gave a sharp explanation.

Xie Jing Xing glanced at her sideways, she lowered her head slightly and smiled gently: "My boss went to Southampton for a field survey not long ago."

The two football hooligans I met on the Isle of Wight said that Southampton is aiming for the best result in history this season.

On the other hand, this team took the initiative to hint two months ago that it was looking to sell the team, which led to the middle-aged white man representing the government to broker the deal today.

Before selling off, they hype up the good news to increase the valuation. Even dogs know this.

It usually takes two or three years for a team to achieve results. When the players achieve results, their values ​​increase and their contracts are about to expire. If Southampton does not have high debts, it will face the loss of key players, or both.

It's ok to fool those unsophisticated people who are engaged in industry in China, but on the contrary, those European and American people who are engaged in industry are also unsophisticated people. Domestic private equity and venture capital institutions are financial institutions after all, and due diligence can't just clean up their messes.

It's fine for a big white British girl like Vanessa to set up a trap for him, but how can a 200-pound fat woman like you be worthy of it?
Xie Jingxing felt sick just thinking about Catalina's greasy face in the due diligence report. He was really tired of the environment full of traps, so he closed his eyes tiredly and signaled Chen Xi to send him away.

(End of this chapter)