"A banquet …" Twain picked up his glass and drank the rest of the wine. "… is just like the taverns in fantasy novels. It's a good place to gather information, meet new friends, and meet old enemies …"
"You might also meet old friends, Mr. Twain." A voice suddenly rang out behind Twain, startling him.
He turned around abruptly and saw another familiar face looking at him with a grin.
"Mr. Billy Woox …" He gritted his teeth. "Can I put you in the category of 'old enemies'?"
George Wood's manager, Billy Woox, laughed. "You're so humorous, Mr. Twain. If we're not friends, what else can we be? "
Twain shrugged. "Who knows?"
Woox clearly did not want to be entangled in such a boring bickering. He knew that if he were to bicker with Twain, there would be no clear winner after wasting a lot of saliva. "I didn't expect Mr. Twain to read fantasy novels. Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?"
Twain did not answer the question. Instead, he asked Woox, "Why are you here?"
"Have you forgotten, Mr. Twain? Before I became George's manager, I was a manager in the entertainment and fashion circles. I'm friends with most of the people in this circle. "Woox pointed to the guests in the hall." Of course, that includes Mr. Armani. "
Armani's friend again. Twain pursed his lips and muttered in a low voice, "Mr. Armani really doesn't care about anything …"
"What did you say, Mr. Twain?" Woox did not hear clearly.
"Ah, I said Mr. Armani has good teeth. Good teeth means good appetite …" Twain casually made up a story. Then, he looked at Woox standing in front of him and thought of something bad. "You're not here to talk to me about George's salary again, are you?"
Woox laughed. "Do I look like such an insatiable person?"
"What if I say you do?"
"Then what you see is only my outer appearance, Mr. Twain ~" Woox suddenly winked at Twain. This action shocked Twain so much that he shivered. He felt that there was something wrong with this man, who was fastidious about his clothes like a woman, spoke in a strange tone, and was a little obsessed with cleanliness.
"But I do have something to discuss with you." Woox raised his glass and pointed to the empty balcony. "Do you want to hear a clichéd story, Mr. Twain?" With that, he turned around and left without waiting for Twain's reply.
Twain hesitated for a moment and looked around again. He found that the balcony had two spacious doors. If the situation was not good, it would be easy to run, so he followed.
After entering the balcony, they were a little further away from the noisy hall, and it was a little quieter. Woox walked straight to the railing to enjoy the breeze while Tang En tried his best to stand on the side closest to the door.
Woox turned around and saw Tang En looking a little nervous. He laughed again. "You're still afraid that I'll eat you, you fearless demon Tang En? We're standing so far away, how can we talk? "
Tang En awkwardly moved a few steps forward. The distance between the two of them was finally more normal.
"Well, what cliché have you got to tell me? If it has nothing to do with me, I might just turn around and leave. "His words were not soft at all.
"Ah, well, it has nothing to do with you. But … "Seeing that Tang En was indeed about to turn around and leave, Woox hurriedly stopped the suspense and said directly," But it has something to do with George Wood. " He saw Tang En turn back and asked with a smile, "Are you interested now, Mr. Twain?"
"You know I care about George."
"Of course, your feelings for him have probably already surpassed the kind of feelings between a coach and a player. If I had to say, it's more like … a father and son?"
Tang En did not comment on Woox's evaluation.
Woox took out a piece of paper from his inner pocket and handed it to Tang En.
Tang En took it and moved closer to the door, looking at it with the light coming from the hall. The edges of the paper were already bristling. It looked like it had been worn for a long time. Only when he unfolded the paper did he realize it was an IOU.
On it was someone borrowing 240,000 dollars from Mr. Billy Woox and promising to pay it back within ten years. Tang En did not know the name of the person who signed it, but he was very familiar with the surname — Wood. The date was …
"1987? This is from 20 years ago? "Tang En looked up at Woox in shock.
"To put it simply, this clichéd story goes like this: A pauper who impregnated a girl borrows a large sum of money from a distant relative and promises to pay it back within ten years. However, ten years have passed, and the relative still hasn't received the money. Now, another ten years have passed …" Woox spread his hands.
Tang En interrupted him. "That pauper was George Wood's father, and the distant relative who lent him the money was you, Mr. Billy Woox? You don't look that old … "
"I take good care of myself." Woox stroked his own face. This action made Tang En have the urge to rush out the door.
"But you know, Mr. Twain. I'm not a philanthropist who takes out large sums of money to give to society without asking for anything in return. " Woox retracted his hand from his face and waved it in the air. "Naturally, I have to take back the money I borrowed. Including interest … 400,000 dollars. "
"Are you a loan shark?" Tang En asked through gritted teeth. Logically speaking, Woox was also considered Wood's relative. Although he could not figure out the seniority between them, they were still family, right? Wasn't it a little too much to calculate the debts of a family so clearly?
"Oh, Mr. Twain, you've misunderstood me. I adjust it every year according to the bank's interest rate, "Woox said proudly. "It's a pity I can't find George's deadbeat father, nor can I ask his mother, Miss Sophia, for money. She doesn't even have money to treat her own illness. Look at how kind I am. Fortunately, I have to thank you here, Mr. Twain. If you had not made George a professional footballer, how could he have earned so much money? "
Tang En really did not expect there to be such a story behind Wood. Just as Woox said, it was really a cliché story …
"So you repeatedly approached George and wanted to be his agent. Was that also part of your plan?" Tang En recalled Woox's unusual enthusiasm towards Wood. It was indeed strange.
"If George was still that little stud who worked hard at the moving company, who would care about him? Thanks to you, he became a star player. As for me … because of my many years in the profession, I saw another kind of potential in him. I thought that since his father could not be found and his mother was incapable, it was not a bad thing for a son to repay his father's debts. Yes, that was what I thought at the time. It was also with this thought that I approached him … Wait, are you going to call me despicable next? "Woox pointed at Tang En's mouth that had just opened.
Tang En shook his head. "No, I was going to call you shameless."
Woox shrugged. He did not care about Tang En's evaluation of him. Then, he took the loan slip from Tang En's hand and studied it under the light from the door. The ink on the slip was already a little blurred. Under the dim light, it seemed like there were double images.
The old man just looked at it without saying a word.
Tang En stood on the balcony for a while and felt a little bored. He was about to turn and leave when he heard Woox call him from behind. "Mr. Twain, you know I never smoke. So … do you have a lighter on you?"
Tang En took out a ZIPPO lighter from his pocket and threw it to Woox.
Woox caught the lighter and lit up the loan slip from 20 years ago in front of Tang En. Seeing this, Tang En raised his eyebrows. He was a little surprised.
"Are you surprised, Mr. Tang En?" Woox asked, staring at the note in his hand that was surrounded by flames.
"Do you want me to praise you for suddenly having the heart of a philanthropist?"
Illuminated by the flames, Woox smiled slyly. "Because I just received a cheque for two million pounds a day ago. It was signed by George's deadbeat dad. It's amazing. I always thought he had died in the turbulent seas. "
When the flames were about to burn Woox's fingers, he threw the note away. The last piece of paper was burned to ashes in the night sky and then blown away by the night wind. The brief light on the balcony disappeared.
"Looks like he's doing well." Tang En shrugged. His tone was sarcastic. "But why doesn't he come back to see his precious son?"
"Are you willing for him to come back and acknowledge his family?" Woox asked, staring at Tang En.
Tang En was confused by the sudden question. He looked at Woox and did not answer.
"I think he feels ashamed to come back. After all, he was the one who abandoned the poor mother and son and ran away. If he feels that money can make up for his regret … "
Tang En thought Woox would say, "He must have thought wrong."
He did not expect Woox to say, "That's great. I hope to receive a cheque for two million pounds from him every day." This time, he smiled so widely that he even showed his teeth. In the darkness, he looked like the vampire Earl Douglas.
"Well, since you don't need George to work hard to earn money to return your moldy four hundred thousand pounds, can we have less contact in the future?" Tang En felt that this was the question he was most concerned about. George's mysterious background, the family power behind Woox, the adventures of George's deadbeat dad … none of it had a penny to do with him.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do as you wish, Mr. Tang En. Although I don't need that four hundred thousand pounds anymore, you won't mind me fighting for a better living condition for George and his poor but respectable mother, right? "
Woox's words were so dignified that Tang En could not say anything in rebuttal.
"As long as you don't go crazy, I won't object." In the end, he sighed helplessly.
"Go crazy?"
"For example, asking for a weekly salary of a hundred thousand …"
"As far as I know, Mr. Tang En. Before George became a first-team player in Forest, you once gave him a goal — a weekly salary of one hundred and twenty thousand, right? "
Twain was speechless. He had personally said this to Wood, and he had said it more than once. In the past, he had only treated it as a beautiful goal for Wood to strive for, like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey, becoming his motivation to keep moving forward. He did not expect Woox to use it as a reason to ask for more.
"One hundred and twenty thousand … Yes, I said that, but it also depends on the club's financial situation. The club doesn't belong to me alone. If I were as rich as Abramovich, forget one hundred and twenty thousand, I'd even give two hundred thousand. "Tang En pushed the responsibility to the club and even gave a blank check to show his generosity.
"But the team is yours. You have the final say. Oh? Isn't that the case? "Woox took a step forward and sized Tang En up. "Don't tell me your words don't count in the team?"
"Of course I have the final say in the team. But the financial issues are handled by Allan Adams. My transfer funds and the financial budget for every season are coordinated and settled by him and me. Do you know? The Nottingham Forest Football Club values the cooperation between the various departments. "
Although that was what he said, Tang En sometimes thought that Allan was really a hindrance at times. He would use the financial budget as a reason to refuse to sign someone he thought highly of. He would use the huge market potential as a reason to sign someone he did not think highly of. Who had the final say in this team? Did Evan support him more, or did he support himself more?
Just as Tang En was muttering to himself, Woox said his goodbyes. He returned the lighter to Tang En and waved his hand as he walked towards the hall.
Tang En called out to him again. "I'm a little curious as to why you're telling me this."
Woox turned back to look at him. "Because I don't want to tell George and his mother." Then he waved goodbye again.
Tang En's gaze followed him and saw Shania and her manager, Mr. Fasal.
What made him curious was that when Woox met the two, Fasal stopped to greet Woox politely. Shania also stood obediently to the side, her mischievous expression instantly gone.
This scene made Tang En frown again. This Woox … What kind of person was he?
The three of them chatted for a while before dispersing. Before they left, Woox pointed to the balcony for the two of them. Tang En saw Shania and Fasal walking towards him.
"So you're here, Uncle Tony." Once they entered the empty balcony, the lively Shania returned.
"Were you chatting with Mr. Woox?" Fasal asked.
Tang En nodded. "I saw that you treated him … Hmm, very respectfully?"
Fasal smiled. "He used to be my boss, Mr. Tang En."
This answer surprised Tang En.
"The modeling company that Shania belongs to belongs to Mr. Woox. Ever since I became a manager in this industry, I've been working under Mr. Woox. It's just that he suddenly announced that he would give up his shares in the industry and run off to become George Wood's manager. You know what happened next, Mr. Tang En. "
After listening to Fasal's simple introduction, Tang En's back broke out in a cold sweat. Even Shania was a contracted model of the company under his name … It looked like he would not be able to get entangled with this hateful old man for a while.
"Mr. Woox is a great man. He's polite to everyone," Shania added from the side. "He's a true gentleman."
Tang En glanced at her. He was worried that Shania was only seeing the old man's outer appearance. "I'm polite to people too. I'm also a gentleman. "
"'Damn son of a b * tch' … Is that a gentleman's catchphrase, Uncle Tony?"
Tang En coughed twice.
"Children are not allowed to learn vulgarities!" He could only bully the young once again. But the result was predictable — to the grown-up Shania, the effect was getting weaker and weaker.
"Seventeen years old. I'm not a child anymore!" Shania retorted without backing down.
Seeing the two of them begin to bicker, Fasal tactfully slipped away, leaving the empty balcony to the two of them.
"I know some models who have slept with God knows how many men at the age of seventeen."
Tang En turned his head to look at Shania. Did little girls blush when talking about such things? Unfortunately, the night was too dark and he could not see clearly.
He suddenly thought of Sophia, the poor mother who had run away from Jamaica to England with George's deadbeat father at the age of seventeen. She became pregnant with George and wandered alone in a foreign land, bringing up her child. They were both seventeen years old …
"Xiao Qiao." Tang En suddenly called Shania's pet name.
"Hmm?" Shania, who was leaning on the railing overlooking London's night view, turned her head to look at Tang En.
"You must find a good man in the future …" Tang En muttered as he looked into the distance.
Shania did not reply immediately. She looked at the side of Tang En's face, quietly scrutinizing it for a while. Tang En did not seem to know that Shania was sizing him up. He only looked into the distance, lost in thought.
"Hmm, when I find one, I'll definitely bring it to Uncle Tony. If Uncle Tony is not satisfied, I'll immediately make him scram!" She replied with a grin, then skipped back to the hall.
Tang En did not react at first. After a while, he finally understood and let out an "ah".
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