Chapter 144: Dispute

Lee Hyo-ri was a voluptuous and striking woman. She and her large entourage were still lingering in the hotel lobby, seemingly waiting for someone.

Her "chief advisor" was not a handsome young celebrity, but a middle-aged man with a goatee who looked like a wise sage.

The middle-aged man said, "Matters of business cannot be rushed. If you are too high-profile and rush to see him like this, it will only make him think you are holding a weak hand and lead to further extortion. After all, they are simply a gang of licensed thugs."

Lee Hyo-ri frowned and said, "What else can we do besides this? We have no choice but to reach out to more people and pull some strings. The family's business is in a very precarious position right now. When we made that massive capital withdrawal from the East, public opinion tore us apart, accusing us of showing an ugly face and burning bridges. We've already lost our reputation, and the UK was our primary relocation destination back then."

"Times have changed, however, and our family's influence here has plummeted. Home Secretary Julia's new policies have put many of our operations in jeopardy. Scotland Yard isn't just showing an ugly face—they're crawling all over our businesses, truly just picking a fight. Deputy Commissioner Oliver is the most approachable; as the second-in-command at Scotland Yard, he is currently the highest-ranking official capable of an objective dialogue with the Lee family. I heard his wife is an enthusiast of horse racing, which is why she came to attend the Royal Ascot. And Deputy Commissioner Oliver himself will be attending tomorrow night's champagne gala."

Lee Hyo-ri concluded, "This is a crucial opportunity for me, and I must seize it. If things drag on for a few more months like this, the family business will suffer even greater blows. With all these sharks showing their ugly faces, heaven knows how many people are coveting the Lee family's assets. Nowadays, even a random regional chief inspector dares to point fingers at the Lee industries and throw their weight around under the guise of official business. Great-grandfather is getting on in years and in very poor health; if this continues, things will look grim."

By this time, the person Lee Hyo-ri was waiting for still hadn't arrived, and heading back up to the top floor felt impolite, leaving her rather irritable.

Just then, Ma Weimin and his entourage walked in. After checking in, Zeng Xiaoxian generously tipped the two bellboys fifty pounds each right there in the lobby.

Lee Hyo-ri sneered and muttered with a tone of contempt, "More of these nouveau riche Chinese. They were annoying enough to run into at the airport, and now I have to see them here again."

The goateed man smiled faintly, "Let it go, it's none of our business."

Lee Hyo-ri seemed to hold him in high regard, so she merely curled her lips and said, "Very well, Uncle Hua makes sense."

With the crowd and the noisy surroundings, Brother Ma's group did not overhear Lady Lee's absurd remarks.

Before they could head up, they noticed flashes going off everywhere. Reporters even broke through the security barrier, rushing in to frantically ask questions and snap pictures of the female celebrity, Knightley.

Heaven knows why this woman had lagged behind, but as it turned out, Knightley was also staying at this hotel.

Feng Chenchen's goal for this trip was indeed to find her, and seeing her walk in, she refused to leave. With no other option, she told the bellboys to take her luggage up themselves.

Feng Chenchen had an inexplicable confidence in Brother Ma, always feeling that being around him brought great luck. Thus, she tightly hooked her arm through Ma's and walked straight toward Knightley.

Upon meeting, Knightley didn't remember ever seeing them and asked with mild surprise, "What is it? Do we know each other?"

Because they had never met in person, Feng Chenchen had only ever been in contact with Knightley's assistant. Explaining that would be somewhat complicated.

Moreover, while Feng Chenchen could read simple English newspapers without much trouble, her listening comprehension was far from fluent.

After Feng Chenchen fumbled through a few words of explanation, Knightley failed to understand, grew impatient, and turned away with a slight frown.

This inevitably made Feng Chenchen feel a bit awkward, though she had to admit that, given the circumstances of constantly dodging reporters, Knightley's temper was actually quite good.

Turning around, Knightley spotted Lee Hyo-ri waving at her and walked over in her direction.

Refusing to accept defeat—especially after a clear plan had failed solely due to a language barrier—Feng Chenchen decided this time she would rely on Brother Ma as her interpreter. She once again hooked her arm through Ma's and followed them over.

This time, however, they were met with a rough interception by Lee Hyo-ri's bodyguards. "You've come to the wrong place!" one of them barked while aggressively shoving Feng Chenchen and Ma backward.

"Isn't this a public space?" Ma blinked, looking at the bodyguards.

"Don't run your mouth! Stop trying to freeload!" they pushed harder with growing impatience.

Zeng Xiaoxian genuinely wanted to avoid a conflict with the Lee family on their home turf, so he hurried over and said, "Forget it, it's just a misunderstanding."

Lee Hyo-ri and Knightley, who seemed to have collaborated before, were chatting rather intimately to the side.

Of course, Lee Hyo-ri had a purpose in showing Knightley such elaborate courtesy, waiting for her specifically in the hotel lobby as a grand gesture of respect.

Yet her pleasantries with Knightley had now been interrupted. Glancing over, she saw it was that same group of nouveau riche Chinese.

Frowning coldly, Lee Hyo-ri looked toward them and demanded, "What's going on? What is all this noise about?"

Seeing it was them again, Knightley frowned slightly as well.

Lee Hyo-ri's bodyguard quickly turned back and smiled, "Miss, these people have no manners. They came over to harass us without explaining themselves."

"You're here to harass me?" Lee Hyo-ri looked at Ma's group with an air of unyielding authority.

The atmosphere grew intensely confrontational. Zeng Xiaoxian really didn't want to offend the Lee family, so he fell silent and stood quietly to the side as a spectator.

As for Feng Chenchen herself, she certainly lacked the courage to offend a behemoth like the Lee family. In her understanding, even Jiang Yaowen wouldn't dare cross them.

Flustered, Feng Chenchen hurriedly waved her hands in defense, "No, no, please don't misunderstand. I saw someone I knew and just wanted to come over and say hello," she gestured toward Knightley.

"Me?" Knightley looked perplexed. "Do we... know each other?"

At this, Lee Hyo-ri nearly laughed out loud, utterly speechless at these people overestimating themselves. She coldly remarked, "An acquaintance, indeed. The problem is that anyone in the entire world who has ever watched a movie knows her and wants to come over to say hello and take a picture. Isn't that stating the obvious? If this isn't harassment, what is?"

As she said this, Uncle Hua felt it was inappropriate, but this pampered and willful heiress was simply set in her ways. Unwilling to lecture the young miss over a few insignificant nobodies, Uncle Hua could only continue to watch from the sidelines.

Feng Chenchen wanted to offer a few more words of explanation, but her conversational English failed her in her anxiety.

Ma looked at them for a moment and said, "You can say Feng Chenchen is stating the obvious, and that's fine. But how on earth is this harassment? You're standing in a public place, and she's walking around in a public place. Do me a favor and explain which country's laws you're citing here. If it's the Lee family house rules, this hotel doesn't seem to belong to you, does it?"

Lee Hyo-ri was momentarily at a loss for words, her face flushing red and white. She had never, ever been talked back to like this before, especially by a man.

Seizing her assistant's phone immediately, Lee Hyo-ri glared at Ma and challenged, "Even if this isn't my hotel, would you like me to make a call right now and summon the manager to answer for this?"

Ma rolled his eyes. "Calling the manager won't do a damn thing. The check-in contract is between me and the hotel. This is a public space, and I have every right to walk through here. If you bring the manager, I'll bring the police."

Lee Hyo-ri was instantly fit to be tied with anger.

Uncle Hua pulled Lee Hyo-ri back and leaned in to whisper, "These people may not know what's good for them, but they do have a point. This is indeed a public space, and we have no grounds to interfere with them. If they are ignorant enough to actually call the police, though it's a trivial matter, it will undoubtedly generate negative press for the Lee family. Let it go, Miss. Let's maintain a low profile."

Uncle Hua's words carried weight and made sense. Though still seething with indignation, Lee Hyo-ri could only cast them a cold, lingering glare. Without escalating the matter further, she turned back to Knightley and said, "Let's go. We can talk upstairs. I've booked the entire top floor, so none of these stray cats and dogs will disturb us."

Before stepping into the elevator, Lee Hyo-ri glared hatefully at Ma one last time.

Being a person in the entertainment industry with a playful temperament and no desire to accumulate unnecessary enemies, Knightley offered Ma a mischievous, subtle wink...