The two exchanged opinions on the details of the report for a while. At 8 p.m., Deng Shiyang declined Harrowby''s invitation for dinner, using "catching up on sleep" as an excuse, and then left his room.
Since both breakfast and lunch were delivered to his room, Deng Shiyang planned to splurge on a fancy dinner tonight to treat himself with some of the reward he had just earned. However, to his surprise, three out of the four restaurants in the hotel that served dinner were fully booked. The only one that didn’t require a reservation, “The Lounge,” located in the hotel lobby, had a business casual dress code, and he was turned away for not meeting the attire requirement, as he was wearing casual pants and a jacket.
After hitting several walls, his enthusiasm was completely deflated. Back in his room, he ordered a quick dinner by phone and then took his time enjoying a hot bath before changing into a loose robe. At 10:30 p.m., after estimating the time in New York, he called "Thomas Investigative Consultants" on his phone.
After providing the name of the client to the receptionist, who had a seductive voice, the call was quickly transferred to another extension. Shortly after, a deep male voice came through the receiver. Deng Shiyang repeated the agreed-upon name and then inquired about the investigation results regarding "Ruiyuan International."
"Please hold on," the other party said, placing the phone down. Deng Shiyang could hear the sound of documents being shuffled on the desk. About half a minute later, the man finally found the needed report.
"I have the investigation report here. Would you like it sent to you?"
"Don''t send it," Deng Shiyang responded, then asked, "Is the report long?"
"Not long, only five pages."
"Fax it to me." He walked to the desk and read out the fax number aloud over the phone.
About ten minutes later, he received the investigation report.
The report contained a large amount of dizzying financial jargon. It took Deng Shiyang two hours to slowly sort through the details.
The main shareholders of "Ruiyuan International" were originally three companies. The largest shareholder was Shougang Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd.; the second-largest was Tongguan Resources Holdings Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co., Ltd. Besides these two Chinese state-owned enterprises, after a major share reduction by "Asset Management" last year, the largest overseas shareholder became France''s Plus All Holdings Ltd.
Earlier this year, a financial investment company named "Diliman Holdings," registered in Jersey, purchased $5 million in convertible bonds from Ruiyuan International’s largest creditor, Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Ltd. It then used the opportunity of an asset restructuring to convert the bonds into equity, instantly becoming the company’s third-largest shareholder.
At the end of January, "Diliman Holdings" used Ruiyuan International''s assets as collateral to secure a $30 million short-term loan from Deutsche Bank’s Singapore branch, while also starting to market a $10 million bond in the U.S. with a high interest rate of 12%.
Just last week, "Diliman Holdings" acquired all of the shares held by Plus All, increasing its total shareholding to 16.7%, making it the largest shareholder of Ruiyuan International.
"This is getting more and more interesting," Deng Shiyang muttered as he put down the investigation report. He walked into the bathroom to freshen up before bed. Lying on his back in bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, he kept thinking about the final sentence in the report: "Based on current investigation results, ''Diliman Holdings'' is preparing to acquire Ruiyuan International through a leveraged buyout."A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The next day, Deng Shiyang slept in until noon.
After lunch, he walked to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of chilled mineral water, and then sat on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The weather was great today. The white clouds, like giant pieces of cotton, floated slowly across the blue sky. Sunlight slanted into the room through the glass. The early spring weather, unique to southern China, wrapped around him like soft velvet. Victoria Harbour was calm and tranquil in the afternoon, with boats moving across the sea that was as flat as a piece of blue marble, leaving behind gentle, slowly fading white waves.
The warm sunshine made him feel as though he had returned to Cyprus, recalling the leisurely and comfortable time he had spent on vacation by the Aegean Sea. This was the life he had always dreamed of. He yawned, lazily stretched out his limbs on the sofa, then picked up the bottle of mineral water from the coffee table, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp. The cold liquid flowed down his throat and into his esophagus, dispelling the drowsiness brought on by the sunlight and clearing his mind.
Slowly, he stood up and walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling and prosperous city outside. On the street next to the hotel, Min Guang Street, he could see office workers in suits hurrying toward nearby office buildings, trying to make the most of the little time left before their lunch break ended.
Separated by just a thin piece of glass, there were two completely different worlds. He remembered standing in front of the glass window of a travel agency, staring at the large promotional photos of another world and another lifestyle. At that moment, he had made up his mind to cross to the other side of the glass, to leave behind that life of commuting in a second-hand Chevrolet, working in a cramped office operating a photocopier, a life as bland and flavorless as cheap coffee.
That evening, he dialed the number for "Thomas Investigative Consultants" again and reached the same employee from the previous night.
He began by offering positive feedback on the investigation report he had received the previous night, and he praised the person in charge of the case. After some polite small talk, he got to the point: "I would like to commission you to conduct a thorough investigation into ''Diliman Holdings.'' I want to know the background of the company, who its shareholders are, and its financial movements over the past six months."
The other party said nothing. A faint rustling sound came through the receiver, indicating they were taking notes. The employee quietly listened until Deng Shiyang finished speaking before responding, "Sir, I understand your request. But in the interest of professional ethics, I must remind you before accepting this commission: trust or investment companies like this are abundant in the UK, especially those registered in offshore jurisdictions, which are even more difficult to trace." After pausing briefly, he added, "We''ve had many similar commissions before. Clients have spent a lot of time and money on investigations, only to uncover unrelated names or bank accounts in places like Gibraltar or the Cayman Islands, or even find that it’s another similar company..."
"Thank you for the reminder," Deng Shiyang interrupted. "I''m aware of what companies that sell junk bonds are like, but I still want you to investigate."
"In that case, we accept your commission," the other party seemed to sigh in relief.
Deng Shiyang thought for a moment and added, "Also, I want you to closely monitor the movements of this company and report to me any activity they have in the stock market."
"That’s not a problem, but it will require additional manpower..."
"This is important," Deng Shiyang raised his voice slightly. "I need first-hand information on that company''s activities in the stock market. The moment they start buying a stock or strike any kind of deal with another company, you must notify me immediately."
The person on the other end of the phone seemed startled and nervously replied, "We will pay extra attention."
They spoke a bit more, agreeing on a reasonable price for the commission, and then ended the call.
After hanging up, Deng Shiyang walked to the desk in the living room, sat down, opened his laptop, and logged into his online bank account. He transferred $5,000 to the account of the Thomas company.
Annotations:
Junk Bond: A high-interest, high-risk bond, usually issued by companies with very low credit ratings.
Leveraged Buyout (LBO):Also known as a financing acquisition, it refers to the strategy where a company or individual uses assets as collateral to secure debt financing to acquire another company.