MWC – Chapter 207 Who’s Helping Whom?

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

Outside the Beverly Restaurant, the “Temporarily Closed” sign was once again hung up.

This was a high-end, very discreet members-only restaurant. It had few tables to begin with, and its golden beach outside was privately owned. With green palm trees, azure skies, and the deep blue sea all blending into one view, it offered a stunning tropical beach scene.

At the restaurant’s private grass tennis court in the rear, Lu Ming sat on a bench, panting heavily and wiping the sweat from his forehead with a snow-white towel.

Beside him, Christine—dressed in a white tennis outfit—sipped water slowly, pretending not to notice his disheveled state.

That only made Lu Ming even more dejected. He’d been completely trounced by Christine, couldn’t match her stamina either, and felt utterly humiliated.

He had barely stepped onto the court before twisting his ankle somehow. It hurt terribly now, just like Bizhu had said—it really was ten times worse than a normal sprain.

They hadn’t seen each other in months. This was the first time he had proactively asked Christine out for a meal. Full of enthusiasm, he’d wanted to play a few rounds of tennis with her too—and this was the embarrassing result.

“You came to see me because you need something, didn’t you?” Christine suddenly asked. Then she added, “I was just waiting to see when you’d take the initiative to ask to see me.”

Her tone betrayed no emotion—no joy, anger, or sorrow—which only made Lu Ming feel guiltier. He really had come hoping she could help him clear up some confusion.

He didn’t hide it either. “Jiangning Province and Andong Province are planning to jointly host the Empire Games, which only happen once every five years. I want to secure the exclusive television broadcast rights.”

Christine raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at him. “You’ve invested in a TV station?”

Lu Ming nodded. “Kunlun Channel—I’m the largest shareholder.”

Honestly, something as public as that wouldn’t have been easy to hide from Christine if she ever investigated him.

But she’d never done such a thing. Even when she’d considered introducing him to her daughter, if she had done a background check, she would’ve known right away that he had a mistress. Yet she didn’t find out until much later.

“Oh, so that’s what it is. I always wondered where this Kunlun Channel came from. It’s always doing these oddball things—always a few steps ahead of the other stations. Turns out it was your doing!” Christine chuckled. “Chaotic and unconventional. Definitely your style.”

Lu Ming rubbed his nose but said nothing.

“Oh, I don’t have to apologize, do I?” Christine turned to look at him.

Lu Ming gave a bitter smile but felt a bit relieved. Apparently, Christine hadn’t heard about his outrageous stunt—asking Isabelle to call him “Father Dear.” As expected, Han Anni wouldn’t tell her cousin anything, let alone that cousin who had a strained relationship with her own mother. There’d be no sharing of private matters between them.

“If I can land the broadcast rights for the Empire Games, then I also want to look into broadcasting the Western Kingdom Football League. I want to see how the viewership goes.”

“But first, I want to invest in the Western Football Association League.”

Back in his past life, it had been during the 1950s when television stations began airing Italy’s football league matches, marking the beginning of televised football coverage.

In this world, football was more popular in the western states. The Western Football Association League had participation from twenty-one states—mostly traditional Occidental ones—and nearly all of them were part of the alliance.

The people of Zhongzhou, for some reason, had little interest in football.

“You want to commercialize sports? Turn pure athletic competition into a money-making machine for yourself?” Christine gave Lu Ming a slightly disapproving look.

Lu Ming couldn’t help admiring her. She immediately saw through his intentions—no wonder she was the top candidate for Crown Reserve.

To people of this era, she truly was both intelligent and farsighted.

“Someone’s going to do it eventually…” Lu Ming murmured in weak defense.

Christine smiled. “Your ambitions are still too small. This is the first time you’ve asked me for help, and your goal isn’t even that grand. Even if I gave you all those broadcast rights, how much could you really make?”

Lu Ming nodded. It was true. Right now, the profits from sports commercialization weren’t significant. What he really valued was the influence—especially the influence on the common people.

“So what’s the most profitable industry now? Oil and steel. Virtually every company with a valuation over a billion is in one of those two fields.” Christine looked at him with a half-smile. “I think you’d suit the steel industry. Might toughen you up a bit.”

Lu Ming rolled his eyes in helpless protest.

“Invest in a steel plant in Jiangning. I can help you make the connections. Jiangning holds half the say in the Empire Games’ broadcast rights. If you become a major investor, you’ll have more leverage when negotiating with them.”

Lu Ming gave a helpless smile.

These past few days, he’d taken a deep dive into both Andong and Jiangning.

Jiangning was rich in resources—coal and iron mines—but almost no large steel mills had survived. Most were just small-scale operations.

That was because the governor twenty years ago had sold off nearly all the mineral rights to private individuals.

The current governor, who took office five years ago, was named Chuckson. He was a member of the upper house and a minor noble—an idle earl. In his old age, for some inexplicable reason, he had taken the post in Jiangning. The result was public discontent, even to the point where mountain bandits had started to appear in the highlands.

Even so, despite being unpopular, Chuckson had powerful royal connections. And because Jiangning was considered a remote, lawless territory, even though calls for his impeachment rose one after another, he remained firmly in power.

Christine sighed helplessly at this point. “Uncle Chuckson is a muddled old man. He listens to everything his second wife says. That wife of his is from Jiangning. He used to live like a carefree recluse, but now he’s been dragged into worldly affairs.”

“I’m worried that in the end, all of his lifelong honor and reputation will be ruined, and even his title will be stripped away.”

“In my memory, he was a very good person.”

Christine turned to Lu Ming. “Why don’t you think of a way to help him? I have a feeling your messy, unorthodox methods might actually work wonders.”

Lu Ming gave a wry smile, but didn’t hesitate much. “If it’s something you’re asking me to do, what else is there to say? I’ll do my best.”

But deep down, he was shaking his head. Women are really something else. I came here to ask her for help, so how did it turn into me running errands for her?

“If you handle this matter well, in four years, I’ll nominate you to be Chief Councilor of the North Gate.” Christine smiled, lips lightly pursed.

Lu Ming was helpless. “Too bad there’s no recording device right now, or I’d definitely record that.” Clearly, she was teasing him, but to even be joked with like this—it seemed he was the only one she’d ever treat this way.

After all, words like these, even said in jest, would cause an earth-shattering uproar if they got out.

Christine would instantly lose her eligibility to compete for the Crown Heir position.

When he looked up again, he saw Christine looking at him with amusement. “Seems like you’ll have to secure the broadcast rights yourself too. If you do this well, Uncle Chuckson will likely help you as well.”

Clearly, she found it amusing—he had originally come to ask her for help, but with just a few words, it had turned into him helping her.

“My lady, you’ve changed. You must be surrounded by advisors now, all strategizing with your best interests in mind. You’ve become a self-interested politician, no longer the wise and heroic lady of the past!” Lu Ming sighed helplessly.

Christine smiled without a word, lips still pursed.

“Alright, enough! Let’s go, take a shower and have some tea!” Christine stood up, then looked at Lu Ming again. “Is your foot okay? You looked like you were really hurt.”

“I’m fine, really.” Lu Ming forced himself to stand. After all, it was just a twisted ankle—making a fuss would be too dramatic. Although, yes, it did hurt like hell.

“Don’t move. I’ll ask someone to bring ice for you.” Seeing the pained frown on his face the moment he moved, Christine waved over a waiter.

…

His ankle only looked slightly red and swollen, but when the waiter placed the ice wrapped in a white towel against the swollen area, Lu Ming sucked in a sharp breath.

“You should go to the hospital,” Christine said, surprised.

Lu Ming shook his head.

Christine sat down and gestured for the waiter to leave. She took the towel-wrapped ice herself and gently placed it on Lu Ming’s ankle, softly moving it around. “You have to apply it like this.”

Lu Ming was startled. His bare foot, propped up on the bench, seemed dangerously close to brushing against Christine’s white skirt. And even though her hand didn’t touch his ankle directly, the towel-wrapped ice was cool to the touch, and with her gentle motions—

Hmm? Somehow, the pain really wasn’t as bad anymore. It wasn’t that unbearable, tenfold agony anymore. How strange.

“I read some ancestral records once, just some secret folklore. They talked about the royal family of Zhongzhou…” Christine suddenly stopped and looked at Lu Ming. “You’ve heard of the Zhongzhou Dynasty before, right?”

Lu Ming nodded calmly.

Christine smiled. “Well, the stories are quite outlandish. They say the Zhongzhou royal family would eventually produce a child of destiny. The tales were pretty fantastical, and one said that before this child finished puberty, they’d enter a ‘reverse scale’ phase—where even the tiniest injury would feel like touching a dragon’s reverse scale, causing unbearable pain. Hey, are you that type?”

Lu Ming paused, then laughed. “Maybe I really am some kind of royal descendant?”

“Looks like you just might be…” Christine nodded at him. “I taught you how to apply the ice—aren’t you going to take over? You’re really acting like a prince now! Royal descendant, huh?”

Lu Ming jumped in surprise, hastily taking the towel-wrapped ice from her. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t shown the slightest politeness and really let her ice his ankle?

Christine frowned slightly and continued, “In a few days, a new policy will be proposed: legal professionals must set an example, purify the social climate, and eliminate all vestiges of slavery. Some people really do love throwing their weight around—it’s outrageous!”

Lu Ming kept his head down and didn’t dare say a word.

Although Christine’s tone grew sterner, seeing Lu Ming quietly endure the scolding only made the smile in her eyes grow harder to suppress.