After Mo Yuan opened the door, he saw an Englishman in his forties standing outside.
The man wore a traditional overcoat and carried a briefcase in his left hand, with an umbrella tucked under the sa arm. He was about the sa height as Mo Yuan, roughly 1.8 ters tall.
Mo Yuan smiled. "Mr. Remington Gray, hello. I'm Mo Yuan, the one who arranged this eting with you. I'm from China, but I've been in England for eight years. I'm currently the CEO of Swansea. Welco. Please, co in."
Remington Gray's expression remained calm. His bearing carried a faint, almost effortless arrogance. He stepped into the room, lifted his umbrella, and gave it a shake. A few drops of rain splattered onto the floor before he casually set it beside the nearest sofa.
Mo Yuan took in every detail of his behavior, then walked over to pour him sothing to drink.
"What would you like? Coffee? Tea? Or sothing cold?"
Remington Gray sat down on the sofa and slowly looked around the living room of the suite.
"Coffee," he said casually. "No sugar."
Mo Yuan kept smiling as he brewed the coffee. "With pleasure."
After bringing over the coffee and placing it on the coffee table, Mo Yuan sat down and said, "I believe you already know why I asked to et you."
Only then did Remington Gray withdraw his gaze from the room and turn toward Mo Yuan. Without saying a word, he picked up the coffee and took a small sip.
The next instant, he snapped, "Bloody hell! That's scalding!"
As he set the cup down in irritation, Mo Yuan smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, sorry. I forgot to warn you the water was a little hot."
Remington Gray's face tightened with displeasure. "I know who you are. I know who you work for. I'm giving you three minutes."
His hard attitude did not anger Mo Yuan.
Mo Yuan smiled and said, "Regarding what happened yesterday at Ninian Park in Cardiff, I believe the FA should investigate the truth of the matter thoroughly. Especially since the incident happened at Ninian Park. I believe Swansea was treated unfairly. We were the victims here."
"Victims?" Remington Gray sneered. "The whole world saw that Swansea started the trouble. From before the match even began, your manager was loading the gun. He was like a mad dog, ready to bite anyone in sight. Swansea must bear the main responsibility for the post-match conflict."
Mo Yuan shook his head slightly and chuckled.
"That speech ca from Alan Lang when he was lobbying senior FA officials, didn't it?"
Remington Gray froze for the briefest mont, then imdiately denied it.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. The facts are perfectly clear. There's no need to waste ti on sothing that has already been settled. Swansea will receive the punishnt it deserves."
After saying that, Remington Gray lifted his wrist and checked his watch.
"Three minutes are up. Goodbye."
He was just about to rise and leave.
Mo Yuan lowered his head, a warm, springlike smile spreading across his face.
Rember Alan Lang?
He was the Cardiff City CEO who, six months ago, had watched Mo Yuan throw the faxed player bid onto the floor of Swansea's conference room with one hand and then spit on it.
Mo Yuan had not been the only one to co to London. Alan Lang was also there.
The two club CEOs had both co to handle damage control and public relations for their clubs.
Because Cardiff City was based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales; because Cardiff City was an important talent base highly valued by the Welsh national team; and because the Football Association of Wales and the English FA inevitably had close working ties, such as the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff being used as a venue for dostic cup finals while Wembley was undergoing redevelopnt, Alan Lang had long ago used every available opportunity to build solid connections within the FA's internal managent.
That was club "diplomacy."
After the large-scale brawl between Swansea and Cardiff broke out after the match, Alan Lang ca to London to lobby his friends inside the FA, hoping they would lean toward Cardiff in the FA's investigation.
That was only natural.
Otherwise, what was the point of having those friends?
A few months earlier, when Swansea had traveled away to Hartlepool and been caught in a motorway traffic jam, Mo Yuan had submitted a request to the FA, hoping the match could be delayed.
The FA's response had been cold and simple.
No.
Since then, Mo Yuan had also begun working on the club's diplomatic politics. But for an outsider, breaking into the FA's inner circle and building a network that could be useful at a critical mont was incredibly difficult.
No one paid any attention to him.
He could not even knock on the FA's door.
Since the usual thods did not work, Mo Yuan found another way.
Today, Remington Gray had clearly been impatient. He had co, yes, but only because he had received a small private gift from Mo Yuan through an interdiary. His appearance here was nothing more than going through the motions.
Just as Remington Gray reached for his umbrella, Mo Yuan's calm voice ca from behind him.
"Remington Gray. Forr General Secretary of the Labour Party, once a mber of Parliant, now an important executive mber of the FA. Oh, you're also the honorary chairman of the British Film Institute. You can be seen at many film premieres."
"On the surface, you appear to be a respectable Englishman with social status. At the sa ti, you also possess that traditionally British trait of being reserved on the outside and rather desperate underneath."
"On November 26, when you spent three hundred pounds at a hotel in South London to sleep with a call girl, did you tell her you were an FA executive mber? No. You only told her you were a senior company director. You even said you were divorced, that you were suffering, and that you needed emotional comfort. In reality, all you needed was to bury your face between a woman's breasts to feel satisfied, wasn't it?"
Remington Gray froze where he stood.
His face filled with shock as he turned around and looked at Mo Yuan, who was holding a file in his hand.
At that mont, Mo Yuan sat with one leg crossed over the other, smiling as he watched him.
Remington Gray forced a smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Mo Yuan closed the folder and tossed it onto the coffee table.
"Of course. You can pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Fleet Street, however, would be very interested in what I just said. What draws the most attention these days? Sex scandals, naturally. Remington, stop pretending. It's pointless."
"You spent three hundred pounds on one night of fun. I spent fifteen hundred pounds to make that woman tell everything, including what positions the two of you used, and what little nickna you made her call you so you could enjoy yourself more. I wonder how your wife and children would react after hearing that story."
Remington Gray rushed straight in front of Mo Yuan and roared, "You had followed?"
Mo Yuan nodded calmly. "Yes. If you people can treat with contempt, then you don't get to complain about how I deal with you. If you had nothing to hide, why would you be afraid?"
He paused, then continued, "I can also tell you a secret. It isn't just you. There are quite a few people inside the FA who have given sothing to hold over them, one way or another. Remington, tell , can we begin our proper conversation now?"
Remington Gray's expression changed several tis. Struggling inwardly, he gritted his teeth and said, "Are you blackmailing ?"
Mo Yuan burst out laughing.
"Remington, of course I'm blackmailing you. What did you think this was? A romantic conversation?"
Mo Yuan's smile was flawless, yet it made a chill crawl through Remington Gray's entire body.
Powerless, he sat back down.
Mo Yuan's smile faded. His whole presence changed, carrying a quiet authority that needed no anger to make itself felt.
He said in a low voice, "The matter is actually very simple. The FA's investigation into the post-match brawl between Swansea and Cardiff should reach the following conclusion: Cardiff City failed in its managent duties. Cardiff City manager Alan Cork took the initiative to provoke the conflict. Of course, Swansea was not entirely blaless either, but the primary responsibility must lie with Cardiff. Without their kind of hospitality, none of this would have happened. Isn't that right?"
He looked at Remington Gray.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Fine, Remington. I'll give you one minute."
The situation had completely reversed.
Remington Gray now sat there in silence, afraid to speak.
Mo Yuan rose and poured himself a cup of tea, then sat leisurely in a single armchair and drank it.
Outside the window, the rain had eased.
The light rain had turned into a drizzle, and the sky seed about to clear.
Remington Gray did not struggle for long.
He could not find any way to fight back and retake the initiative.
His weakness was in the other man's hands. If he refused to compromise, his entire life would imdiately be turned upside down.
After nearly a minute of silence, Remington Gray let out a long sigh and said quietly, "I'll do my best to push for it."
Leaning back with his teacup in hand, Mo Yuan chuckled.
"Heh. I don't want a vague answer, Remington. If you fail to handle this properly, then prepare to have Fleet Street's paparazzi swarming your doorstep."
Remington Gray gritted his teeth. "I'll get it done."
"Good boy. That's my dog. All right, you may leave now."
Remington Gray imdiately stood up, desperate to bolt out the door.
But just as he picked up his umbrella, Mo Yuan's cold voice ca from behind him once more.
"The next ti I want to see you, be punctual. Being on ti is a virtue. It reflects a person's character. You should rember that, especially when dealing with your master."
Humiliated, Remington Gray turned back around and said with difficulty, "Then you need to inform in advance. I'm very busy."
He truly did not want to see Mo Yuan again.
For the first ti, Mo Yuan looked at him with an icy stare while holding his teacup.
Remington Gray instantly grew uneasy.
Mo Yuan said flatly, "You still don't understand, do you? Those people with power can decide your career. But I can destroy everything you have. Your career. Your family. Your life."
"So when I want to see you, you had better inject yourself with sothing and run to on both legs. Otherwise, I'll assu you've given up on yourself. And if that happens, I'll help you along and make sure your destruction is even more complete."
Hearing Mo Yuan's undisguised threat, Remington Gray cried out inwardly.
'He's a bloody demon!'
He nodded with difficulty and said, "I... I understand."
After Remington Gray left, Mo Yuan finished his tea. Then he picked up the folder from the coffee table and placed it into his briefcase.
He put on his suit jacket, then took his nylon overcoat from the coat rack and slipped it on. Once dressed, he picked up his briefcase and left the suite.
After checking out on the first floor, he headed straight for the airport.
The clearing sky put people in a good mood.
When Mo Yuan sat in the first-class cabin of the flight bound for Cardiff Airport, he unexpectedly ran into Cardiff City CEO Alan Lang.
Both n were seated in first class, separated by an aisle.
Alan Lang looked to be in a fairly good mood, and he was also surprised to see Mo Yuan there.
After half a year apart, Mo Yuan rely gave him a faint smile in greeting. But inside Alan Lang, waves were already crashing.
He could not help rembering the humiliation he had suffered at Swansea half a year ago, when Mo Yuan had spat in front of him.
Of course, he knew why Mo Yuan had co to London. He had also received word that the FA had shut Mo Yuan out.
That made him rather pleased with himself.
Naturally, he could not resist kicking Mo Yuan while he was down.
Alan Lang leaned slightly across the aisle and smiled at Mo Yuan, who was flipping through a fashion magazine.
"Here in London for business?"
Mo Yuan's hand paused on the magazine. He turned his head and looked at Alan Lang's hypocritical smile, then nodded calmly.
"Yes."
"Because of what happened yesterday?"
"Mm."
Alan Lang let out a long sigh, then suddenly put on a sorrowful expression.
"What happened yesterday really was regrettable. I only hope the FA won't co down too hard."
Mo Yuan chuckled. "I also hope the FA shows so rcy. After all, we're both Welsh clubs. If both of us are punished heavily, the English clubs will be the ones who benefit."
"You're absolutely right! We're both Welsh teams. We should be cooperating with each other, not standing as enemies. I fully agree with that view. Don't worry, I've already smoothed things over on the FA side. I'll make sure they deal with the matter leniently."
Alan Lang suddenly chatted with Mo Yuan as if they were close friends.
But both n knew perfectly well what was really going on.
Alan Lang was shedding crocodile tears, while Mo Yuan played dumb and went along with him.
Once they started talking, the two beca even more "familiar." They chatted all the way through the flight about anything and everything, even imagining various forms of cooperation between their clubs.
After the plane landed at Cardiff Airport, the two n walked out together. Alan Lang imdiately invited Mo Yuan to have a al with him.
Mo Yuan did not refuse.
With Alan Lang acting as host, the two club CEOs ate at a high-end restaurant near the airport and continued the conversation from earlier.
After the al, Mo Yuan got into a car to return to Swansea. Alan Lang even stood by the roadside and waved goodbye to him.
Once Mo Yuan's car disappeared at the end of the road, Alan Lang could not help laughing.
"Once the FA's punishnt cos out, Swansea can just sit there and suffer!"
Alan Lang believed he had taken revenge on Mo Yuan in a very gentlemanly manner.
His only regret was that he would not be able to see Mo Yuan's expression the mont Mo Yuan learned the FA's decision.
Even sitting in the car, he could not stop himself from laughing.
It would surely be wonderful.
By the ti Mo Yuan returned to Swansea, evening was approaching. The sky over Swansea was clear, and the winter sunset filled the city with warmth.
Lynn and the coaching staff were collecting the footballs scattered around the training ground and returning them to the equipnt room. He was about to leave work when he happened to run into Mo Yuan in front of the office building.
Seeing Mo Yuan return looking travel-worn, Lynn smiled and asked, "All sorted?"
Mo Yuan smiled. "Everything's settled."
"Let's have dinner together later. I want to hear what you got up to in London."
"Sure. I had a al in Cardiff, but I didn't have much appetite for that one. Give a mont. I'll go back to my office and put sothing away."
"All right. I'll wait for you in the car park."
Mo Yuan went upstairs and entered his office.
He opened the safe beneath his desk, took a thick folder from his briefcase, and placed it inside. After locking the safe and scrambling the combination lock, he left the office.
The folder stored in the safe contained information on many senior figures inside the FA.
So were completely clean.
Others had more than a few stains hidden from public view.
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