Chapter 41: Brocade embroidered splendor court

Chongqing felt much like the blazing sun in the sky—passionate, uninhibited, and moving at a breakneck pace.

Nie Yunyang had gradually adapted to the tempo of this mountain city. To carve out a career here, talent alone was far from enough; it demanded a thousand percent effort.

So many elites gathered here, possessing not only deep-rooted backgrounds but also a diligence far surpassing ordinary people. If one did not strive to catch up, they wouldn’t even be able to see the dust left behind by their rivals.

Heading out today, Nie Yunyang did not drive his Porsche 911. Instead, he hailed a taxi by the roadside and headed toward Splendid Manor.

He was planning to move out of the villa at Jinke Jiuchu River and would no longer continue living in the luxurious suite at Rongcheng Huafu. Having severed ties with the Mu family, he had no business continuing to consume their resources.

Although Mu Qingyao had repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay, offering extremely generous terms, Nie Yunyang had refused.

A real man always had to weather major storms; how could he possibly lower himself to living off a woman?

Before setting off, Nie Yunyang had already been in touch with the person in charge of Splendid Manor. Judging by the deep and magnetic voice over the phone, the man should be in his forties.

Last night, Cao Weihua had mentioned this manager to Nie Yunyang. The fellow used to work in the government, rising smoothly all the way to the head of the budget division at the finance bureau. Unfortunately, having offended municipal leaders, he was forced to resign and venture into the commercial world.

Deeming the man quite capable, Cao Weihua had extended an olive branch, recruiting him into Jinchuan Trading Co., Ltd., and entrusting him with all affairs concerning Splendid Manor.

Splendid Manor was located on Red Lion Avenue in Jiulong Street. Originally a grand private residence, it had been purchased by Cao Weihua and converted into a private club.

While Chongqing had numerous private clubs, high-end establishments like Splendid Manor were relatively rare. Not only was the environment picturesque, but the supporting facilities were also impeccably complete. Even the decorative ornaments exuded absolute luxury; just the two potted Huangshan pine bonsai trees at the entrance were worth millions.

Splendid Manor maintained a very low profile, yet the threshold for membership was exceptionally high. Those who came here for leisure were all prominent figures in society, distinguished by immense wealth or noble status.

Alighting from the taxi and walking up to the entrance of Splendid Manor, Nie Yunyang was intercepted and questioned about his purpose.

"I am here to see Dai Zhenxuan, the general manager. Could you please announce me?"

"Ah, so you are Mr. Dai's guest! Please, come right in. He is waiting for you inside."

Stepping into the courtyard, Nie Yunyang looked up. The grounds were enclosed by walls of green brick and grey tiles, completely shielding the interior from the prying eyes of passersby.

A path paved with bluestone slabs led straight to the main building. Though about twenty meters long, the path was flanked by five pairs of tall, imposing sculptures, giving it a magnificent and dignified air.

To the left of the courtyard lay a pond adorned with rockeries. At the very center sat a massive boulder inscribed with four sweeping, dragon-like calligraphic characters: Splendid Manor.

Nie Yunyang did not rush to meet the general manager immediately. Instead, he took time to observe the layout of the courtyard. Dating back to the Republic of China era, the architecture was steeped in a heavy sense of history.

Ten minutes later, Nie Yunyang finally stepped into the main building. The interior design was exquisitely refined, with priceless antiques displayed on every side.

Just as Nie Yunyang was admiring a Qing dynasty landscape painting, a man in a tailored suit walked over and asked with a smile, "You must be Mr. Nie?"

"I am Nie Yunyang."

"Brother Nie, hello. My name is Gao Chen, the security manager here. General Manager Dai has already given advance notice. If you arrived, I was to show you around Splendid Manor. He had to step out for some business and won't be back until around twelve o'clock."

"Twelve o'clock?" Nie Yunyang frowned.

Gao Chen nodded. "That's right. General Manager Dai went to the airport to pick up a very important VIP. We have a gathering at the club this afternoon, and that VIP has made a special trip here all the way from Macau."

"I see. Thank you for the trouble," Nie Yunyang said.

Gao Chen bowed slightly, extending a hand. "Please, follow me."

Nie Yunyang cast an assessing glance at Gao Chen. The man had a lean build, yet his palms were broad and covered in calluses—at a single glance, he was clearly a practitioner of martial arts. No wonder he had been appointed as the security manager; he was definitely not someone to be underestimated.

After touring Splendid Manor, Nie Yunyang discovered that the establishment even had two levels of basement: the first basement served as an office area and kitchen, while the second basement functioned as a storage warehouse.

The ground floor housed the reception and exhibition areas, while the second floor and above consisted of private dining rooms of various sizes. The fifth floor, meanwhile, was an exclusive domain accessible only to top-tier members.

Having completed the tour, Gao Chen arranged for Nie Yunyang to rest in a private suite, providing some fruit and beer, and told him he was free to wander around and that he would be notified the moment General Manager Dai returned.

The suite was styled in a purely traditional Chinese aesthetic. The furniture inside was crafted from red sandalwood, and a guqin zither stood near the bed, looking remarkably expensive.

Nie Yunyang sat down in a chair, leaving the fruit on the table untouched, and gazed out the window at the sky, falling into deep contemplation.

Regarding Cao Weihua's background in Chongqing, Nie Yunyang knew very little, save for the fact that the man was exceptionally well-connected.

This time, when Nie Yunyang returned to Chongqing, his original intention was merely to leverage Cao Weihua's connections to help the Mu family weather their crisis.

He had never expected that Cao Weihua could even handle someone like the formidable Master Xue, leaving him profoundly shaken.

During his conversation with Cao Weihua yesterday, Nie Yunyang had assumed Splendid Manor was merely an ordinary private club. Only after witnessing it with his own eyes today did he realize how terribly mistaken he had been.

Previously, Nie Yunyang had simply regarded Cao Weihua as an amiable elder. Now, he realized the man was truly extraordinary!

After waiting for two hours, the elusive General Manager Dai still had not appeared. Growing somewhat impatient, Nie Yunyang stepped out of the suite and returned to the ground-floor exhibition area to admire the calligraphy and paintings.

As noon approached, various employees began heading downstairs for lunch. Most of them were stunning beauties dressed in elegant cheongsams.

After gazing at the artworks for a while, Nie Yunyang felt a slight fatigue in his eyes and stepped outside Splendid Manor to get some fresh air, accidentally running into a beautiful woman attempting to park her car.

The beauty wore a black uniform and was extremely pleasing to the eye, but unfortunately lacked proficiency in driving, struggling endlessly to get the vehicle into the space.

"Hey, mister over there! Come and give me a hand," the woman in the black uniform called out.

Nie Yunyang looked around, pointed at his own chest, and asked, "Are you talking to me?"

"Nonsense, is there anyone else around besides you?" the woman retorted.

Nie Yunyang glanced at the security guards standing behind him, feeling that they had just been subtly insulted, but walked over anyway to help the woman park.

Watching Nie Yunyang smoothly reverse the Mercedes-AMG S63 into place, the woman in the black uniform showed no sign of a smile; instead, she asked coldly, "Are you an employee of Splendid Manor?"

"Yes, and you could also say no," Nie Yunyang replied.

The woman's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Which is it? Yes or no?"

"I'm a new employee, here for my onboarding today," Nie Yunyang said.

The woman let out a sigh of relief, tossed her car keys to Nie Yunyang, and commanded, "Go to Nankai Secondary School and pick someone up for me. He recognizes the license plate."

Before Nie Yunyang could even respond, the woman turned on her heel and walked away, completely disregarding his feelings.