The Film Emperor Is Sick, I have No Cure - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Xing Yu’s birthday fell on a weekday. Early that morning, Lu Danggui received a message from him, saying that a private car would be sent to pick him up for the evening banquet.

After clocking out, Lu Danggui changed into a suit in the locker room. As soon as he walked downstairs, he saw the car waiting at the hospital entrance.

A few days earlier, staff from the foundation had already emailed him a preliminary donation agreement drafted by the Golan Group. The entire process had even been arranged up to the installation phase following the donation.

Still harboring some doubts, Lu Danggui hadn’t replied to the email yet. He planned to talk with Xing Yu in person after the banquet.

Once in the car, Lu Danggui pulled up the speech he’d written in his phone’s notes app, intending to rehearse it a few more times. After all, this charity banquet had commercial overtones, he needed to be prepared and not embarrass Mr. Yu.

—

“…This the new one the boss picked out?”

The car was stuck at an intersection when the driver turned and asked the bodyguard sitting in the passenger seat.

The black-clad bodyguard glanced into the rearview mirror, then raised the privacy partition in the car.

“Looks like it.”

Once he confirmed the person in the backseat could no longer hear, the bodyguard lowered his voice:
“Boss even told Secretary Gao to wait at the door.”

“Tsk tsk, lucky bastard,” the driver muttered.

He tapped the horn a few times.
“Honestly, he doesn’t look as high-quality as that last model. What’s the boss thinking?”

“Maybe he’s got skills in other areas.” The bodyguard shrugged.
“Anyone who can serve the boss, has to be good at something in bed.”

As the front seats filled with low, lewd chuckling, Lu Danggui set down his phone and furrowed his brows.

—

Xing Yu’s birthday banquet was being held at a private estate in the outskirts of S City.

Looking out through the car’s window, Lu Danggui noticed only a few luxury cars parked at the villa gate, not as many guests as he had imagined.

All he could see were uniformed security personnel. It didn’t feel like a charity gala so much as an exclusive private gathering for the elite.

The moment he stepped out of the car, Lu Danggui was stopped at the entrance by security.

They politely asked him to present his invitation.

After checking the envelope thoroughly and confirming its authenticity, they proceeded to scan his entire body with handheld detectors.

When they were done, they asked him to empty the inside lining of his pockets for inspection.

“Sir, are you carrying any recording or video devices?”

“No,” he replied.

“Your phone has recording and video functions. Please keep it turned off for the entire duration of the banquet.”

“……”

Lu Danggui couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids.

It was just a birthday banquet, was this level of security really necessary?

He was about to ask when a young woman with wavy curls came striding out of the hall in high heels, full of urgency.

At the sight of her, the security guards immediately halted all movement and greeted her respectfully,
“Miss Gao.”

The woman curled her red lips into a cold smile as she looked at them and said, “This guest is here at the personal invitation of the boss. You’ve kept him held up here this long, aren’t you afraid of being blamed for it?”

At her command, the guards blocking Lu Danggui instantly scattered like startled birds.

The woman stepped forward and extended her hand to him.
“Mr. Lu, I’m Xing President’s secretary, Gao Lei. You can just call me Secretary Gao. President Xing has been waiting for you. Please, follow me.”

As he followed Secretary Gao into the villa, Lu Danggui didn’t see a single other person along the way.

The moon hung high in the sky, its light glimmering across the outdoor swimming pool just beyond the window. What should have been a bustling hall was eerily quiet. Only the wind drifting down from the mountains whispered through the corridor, rustling as it passed.

The further they walked, the stranger Lu Danggui felt it all was.

It was both the birthday of Haibo’s CEO and the launch ceremony for an international foundation, shouldn’t this have been a grand and lively charity gala?
Why did it feel… deserted?

When they reached a set of heavy wooden double doors, Secretary Gao handed him a sleek rectangular box.

“Mr. Lu, before the banquet begins, please put this on.”

Lu Danggui opened the box and frowned.
“…This is?”

Inside lay a delicate half-face mask.

“This serves as a symbol of your identity,” Secretary Gao explained.
“As long as you wear this mask, President Xing will be able to recognize you right away.”

Lifting the pure-white feathered mask from the box, Lu Danggui felt more and more uneasy.

“Aren’t I supposed to give a speech at the foundation launch ceremony?
Why… do I need to wear a mask for that?”

Secretary Gao spoke gently, “President Xing’s birthday banquet is a very private event. Every year, only his closest friends are invited. President Xing holds great trust in your character, Mr. Lu, that’s why he extended this invitation to such an intimate gathering. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, we ask for your cooperation.”

That’s just a fancy way of saying nothing at all.

Lu Danggui’s mouth twitched slightly.

He’d come to this banquet because he’d agreed to deliver a speech at the donation ceremony, and to show some courtesy to the man who had once saved his sister’s life.

But after being here this long, he hadn’t seen a single person from Golan Group. In fact, he hadn’t seen anyone at all.

After a moment of silence, Lu Danggui pulled out his phone from his pocket.
“…I’ll call Mr. Yu.”

He was getting more and more suspicious by the minute.

Ever since Xing Cheng had once tricked him into signing a “non-disclosure agreement,” he’d stopped taking anything these rich people said at face value. He really should’ve known better than to believe a pie would just fall from the sky, and land squarely on his head for no reason.

For all he knew, attending this banquet might just land him in another round of trouble.

Before he could dial the number, the door in front of him swung open from the inside.

The one who opened it was a tall man dressed in a suit vest. He wore a deep black half-face mask, identical in style to the white one in Lu Danggui’s hand.

A layer of mesh on the mask obscured his high nose bridge and deep-set eyes, concealing his expression.

“Doctor Lu,” the man said in a tone of mild surprise,
“You arrived and didn’t even let me know?”

Lu Danggui recognized the voice immediately, this was Xing Yu himself.

“Mr. Yu, I came here today to discuss the donation terms with you,” Lu Danggui said calmly, steadying himself and keeping a polite expression.
“If this is all just a joke, or some kind of misunderstanding, then I’ll be taking my leave.”

Subtext: You brought me to this godforsaken place, there’s not a soul in sight, and I actually believed you? I must’ve lost my mind.

Hearing what Lu Danggui said, Xing Yu narrowed his gaze at the woman behind him, his tone turning cold. “Secretary Gao, you frightened Doctor Lu.”

Secretary Gao lowered her head with a look of guilt.

“My apologies, Doctor Lu. It was my secretary who failed to explain things properly.”

Xing Yu opened the door behind him and spoke gently, “This is a tradition at my birthday banquets, every guest wears a mask, without exception. I hope you can understand.”

The moment Lu Danggui saw the scene beyond the door, his pupils contracted slightly.

Hidden in the farthest part of the villa was a private club room. From the ceiling hung an enormous inverted diamond chandelier. In the center stood a few single leather armchairs.

In front of each armchair was a man dressed to the nines. Some were standing, some sitting, others lazily tapping the rhythm of the jazz music from the record player with the tips of their shoes, champagne in hand.

The one thing they all had in common: they were wearing masks.

Holding the door handle, Xing Yu bowed with elegant formality and said, “Doctor Lu, please.”

—

When the host of the banquet returned after a brief absence, he brought someone back with him.

Although the newcomer’s face was obscured, it did nothing to prevent everyone’s gaze from landing squarely on him.

Gray suit.
White feathered half-mask. Soft, pale lips. And eyes that were just a little startled and out of place.

As they took their eyes off Lu Danggui, the guests exchanged knowing smiles, clinking glasses with the companions beside them in quiet celebration.

Celebrating that their good friend, the Second Young Master of the Xing family—had brought his latest prey.

The Queen of this year’s hunting game.