Cao Yang finally got the money from Li Yan—after enduring her endless nagging. He felt the cash was harder to obtain than robbing someone for three thousand.
With money in hand, he immediately called Lei Dian to go look for a shop.But after asking around, every place had rent far beyond what he could afford. His little bit of money was basically useless.
Then Lei Dian took him to a factory area where a small convenience shop was up for transfer.
Originally, the rent was two thousand a month, but now it was only five hundred—because the factory across the street had gone bankrupt. No new tenants had moved in yet, and the whole area was practically deserted.
The shop's owner was a local auntie. After chatting for a while, Cao Yang agreed to take it over for one thousand yuan.
One thousand yuan—for one old fridge and two shelves.
He then contacted the landlord and paid three months' rent plus the deposit.
And then…
He was broke. Completely broke. Not even enough to buy machines.
With no choice, Cao Yang went back to ask Li Yan again.
Hearing he came for more money, Li Yan exploded on the spot and insisted she had nothing left.
Cao Yang hugged her, kissed her, coaxed her—using every trick of burly-man acting cute.
"Yan-jie, my dearest Sister Yan, the best sister in the whole world… please help me… just this once…"
Li Yan could never withstand this tactic. She went and withdrew another two thousand, warning him that she was truly emptied out—if he didn't make money, she would twist his head off.
With the money, Cao Yang immediately bought two gaming machines. After adjusting their settings, he prepared to open for business.
The machines outside were normally set to 3:7 odds—three people win, seven people lose. The owner earns the profit from four people.
Cao Yang set them to 4:6—four win, six lose. He'd only profit from two. He figured that since it was the grand opening, he should keep the margins low and build popularity first.
Day 1: Income — 100 yuan.(All lost by Lei Dian.)
Day 2: Income — 50 yuan.(Also lost by Lei Dian.)
Day 3: Income — 30 yuan.(Still lost by Lei Dian.)
Cao Yang felt embarrassed. They were brothers—winning or losing didn't feel good.
He returned the money to Lei Dian and told him to stop playing.
Lei Dian refused, saying he was helping boost business.
Day 4: Income — zero.Lei Dian didn't come.
"Ah…" Cao Yang sighed. This place really was too remote.
He opened a bottle of soda and sat smoking to pass the time.
Suddenly, he saw Lei Dian again—this time with Jiawei, A Liang, A Mei, and two girls with A Mei.
The six of them carried food and alcohol, coming over to drink with Cao Yang.
Cao Yang quickly set up a small table. Seven people sat on tiny stools, chatting and bragging loudly.
When Li Yan returned from work and saw this scene, she was furious.
Cao Yang called her over to eat and drink with them.
Li Yan gave him a cold, hard stare.
Not just him—all his "hoodlum friends" got the same treatment.
"Cao Yang, your sister seems to have an opinion about us," someone joked.
"Don't mind her, she's always like that. Even with me."
Lei Dian pouted, then leaned close to whisper:"We've got something going on tonight. You coming?"
Cao Yang shook his head. He remembered Li Yan's warning—if he dared join them again, she would tell his mom he was stealing outside.
But more importantly, he himself didn't look up to that kind of behavior.
Since he wasn't going, Lei Dian didn't force him. They continued drinking.
Li Yan sat on her bed later that night, cursing Cao Yang. She felt tricked—fooled by his "big money plan." She gave him almost everything she had, and not only was he not earning anything, he was partying every day with a bunch of shady guys.
After the last incident, she had stopped going to work at the Nightingale Club. She found a new job in a clothing store. The pay wasn't high, but she didn't care—because she had put all her hope on Cao Yang.
But this brat gave her nothing but a big pile of regret.She was seriously regretting lending him money.
She wanted to persuade him to sell the shop and the machines while he could still recover a bit, but with so many people around earlier, she couldn't find the chance.
Now he didn't even go home. The shop had a small loft used for storage. Cao Yang tidied it up and started living there.
The next morning, she stormed over and banged on the door.
Cao Yang, who usually slept at 2–3 a.m. and woke around noon, sleepily opened the door—only to see Li Yan's furious expression.
She immediately launched into a long barrage of accusations—saying he lied to her, the place wasn't making money, and he should sell it quickly.
Cao Yang yawned, too lazy to argue.
Seeing his attitude only fueled her anger. She turned and noticed the machines were still on.
"You don't even turn the machines off when you sleep! Electricity is free, huh?!"
Cao Yang lit a cigarette and smiled at her.
Before, he would have found her annoying—timid in front of others but loud toward him. He would've hated it.
But now… he didn't feel that way.Because Li Yan wasn't bad to him. She nagged, but out of concern.
"What are you laughing at?! Did you hear me?!"His calm expression made her even angrier.
Cao Yang grabbed her arm and hugged her gently. "Don't be mad. Don't be mad. Things will get better."
"You—!"Li Yan was about to retort when a young man in factory uniform walked in.
"Boss, I want to buy—"He froze when he saw them hugging."Uh… am I interrupting?"
Li Yan quickly escaped from Cao Yang's arms, fixed her hair, and stood aside.
"What do you need, brother?" Cao Yang welcomed him warmly.Strictly speaking, this was his first real customer.
The young man grabbed two packs of instant noodles and a soda, handing Cao Yang ten yuan.
Cao Yang gave him back five coins and watched him expectantly.
Most people, once they had coins in hand, would try the gaming machines.
This guy was no exception. Seeing the machines lit up, he tossed in a couple of coins and started playing.
Li Yan and Cao Yang both watched.
Five minutes later, he won thirty yuan. He exchanged it for cash and left.
"Cao Yang! What the hell?! Didn't you say you could control it?! How could you let him win?!"Li Yan's face looked like a pot of burnt charcoal.
"Don't be mad! I let him win on purpose. Gotta lure the fish in, right?"
Li Yan didn't believe him and nagged another half hour. When she realized she would be late for work, she stomped away.
After she left, Cao Yang didn't feel sleepy anymore. He lit another cigarette and sat by the door, deep in thought.
At around 4 p.m., the young man from the morning returned—with two more coworkers.
Each exchanged ten coins and started playing.
Then more people came afterward.They all seemed to know each other, probably working at the same factory.