Li Yan was at work. It had already been three days since she last visited the convenience store.Cao Yang had tricked and annoyed her, refusing to transfer the shop like she told him to.So she decided: Out of sight, out of mind.
Suddenly, her phone rang.A strange number.
"Hello, who's this?"
"Yan-jie, it's me."
"What do you want?" The moment she heard Cao Yang's voice, her tone softened into a lazy drawl.
"Nothing much. Just letting you know—this is my new number. Save it."
"Oh… wait… your number? You bought a phone?"
"Hehe, yeah! Brand-new Nokia. Cost more than two thousand!"
"No… where did you get money to buy a phone?"
"I transferred the shop, sold the machines, and used the money to buy it."
"CAO YANG! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! Just you wait! I swear it's either you or me today!!!"
Li Yan exploded. She didn't even wait until her shift ended.She told her manager she needed leave and stormed out immediately.
Meanwhile, Cao Yang hung up with a grin and continued eating with Lei Dian.
"Why did you lie to your sister?" Lei Dian asked, puzzled.
"You don't know her. She's super stingy. The type who lives inside a pile of money.If I told her I bought a phone with what I earned these past few days, she'd go crazy."
"Why? It's just a phone."
"The money I used to open the shop was borrowed from her. So if I make money, I should repay her first."
"But now that I told her I sold everything and used the money to buy a phone—meaning her investment went down the drain—she'll be furious."
"But when she comes here and sees that's not the case, and business is booming, then the phone becomes a small issue."
Lei Dian gave him a thumbs-up. "You're something else."
His phone rang again. He answered, spoke for several minutes, then hung up.
"Cao Yang, I'm heading to Shenzhen tonight for a big job. You coming?"
Cao Yang shook his head and pointed to the shop. "I need to watch the store."
"This one's HUGE. I guarantee one trip will earn you at least thirty thousand!"
"Thirty thousand? Doing what?" Cao Yang was shocked.
Lei Dian lowered his voice. "Crossing over to Hong Kong at night… bringing some goods back to Shenzhen."
"What goods? Drugs?" Cao Yang whispered back.
"What drugs?! What's wrong with that head of yours? Just some electronics."
"Smuggling?"
"Yeah, basically that."
"If you get caught, is the punishment heavy?"
"No idea. Never been caught. Who cares? As long as there's money!"
Cao Yang thought a moment, then refused.A few days earlier, he might have gone.But now that the slot machine business was booming, there was no need to take risks.
Seeing he wasn't going, Lei Dian didn't insist. He packed up and headed home to gather Jiawei and A-Liang.
No sooner had he left than Li Yan charged in from the street.
"CAO YANG, YOU BASTARD!"
She lunged at him, scratching like she wanted to kill him.
But when she turned her head and noticed the crowd around the machines, she froze.
"What's going on? Why so many people? Didn't you TRANSFER the shop?!"
Cao Yang lit a cigarette and smiled lazily. "Just messing with you."
"And these people?"
"Can't you see? Customers. They're here to play."
"And the money for the phone?"
"Earned these past two days."
He took out his phone and showed it off."Ever since you left, business suddenly picked up. In three days, I made more than three thousand."
"Really?" Li Yan was shocked and thrilled, but still a bit suspicious.
Cao Yang took a thousand yuan from his bag and handed it to her. "Here, returning part of what I owe you. I'll pay back the rest in a few days."
Li Yan happily pocketed the money and corrected him:"Return? This is me taking back my investment. Don't forget—we're business partners."
"Tch, look at your greedy face," Cao Yang muttered.
Li Yan dragged him aside. "I'll handle the exchanges. You stay out of the way."
She shoved him away, sat behind the counter, and started exchanging coins for players.
Watching the stack of bills grow higher and higher, her smile slowly turned into a huge grin.
She didn't mind doing it, and Cao Yang enjoyed the break—leaning back, smoking, enjoying the night air, and playing with his new phone.
Suddenly, a motorcycle stopped at the entrance.Two young punks stepped off and headed straight for the slot machines.
They took out a key and tried unlocking one of the machines.
"What do you think you're doing?"Not only Cao Yang, but Li Yan and all the players stared at them.
The two grinned. "We're retrieving coins. Just two minutes."
As they spoke, they pushed the key into the machine, but no matter how they twisted, it wouldn't turn.
While they were confused, Cao Yang dragged them aside.
"Bro, you trying to rob people in broad daylight?!"
The two looked at Cao Yang, then walked outside and looked at the shop sign.
"…Looks like we're in the wrong place. This isn't our machine."
Still confused, they left—asking on the way who owned the machines now.Cao Yang ignored them.
By 2 a.m., most customers had left, except for three gamblers determined to win back their losses.
"Guys, we're closing. Come back tomorrow," Cao Yang said, exhausted.
The three were annoyed but eventually left, cursing.
"Why are you turning customers away?" Li Yan snapped."Are you stupid? They're here to give you money!"
"Sleep! Don't you sleep?" Cao Yang yawned.
"I don't need sleep when money's coming in!"
"You have work tomorrow."
"I'm off tomorrow."
They argued for a moment, then counted the day's profits.
Net income: 2,500.
Li Yan grinned from ear to ear. She stuffed 2,000 into her bag, reclaiming 3,000 of her investment in total.
"Cao Yang, what time are you opening tomorrow?"
"I'm not opening in the morning. I'll open in the afternoon."Cao Yang swept the floor, gathering a mountain of cigarette butts.
"What? That late? Will it kill you to open earlier?!"
"I can't get up early. And no one plays in the morning anyway."
"Bullshit! You're just lazy! Starting tomorrow, open at 8 a.m.!"
"Tch. You open if you want."
"I will!"Li Yan was ecstatic—one day's income equaled two months' salary. She was already imagining her future rich life.
"You're really opening at eight?"Cao Yang checked the time—nearly 3 a.m.
"Of course. I'm off tomorrow, so I'll come early. If business stays this good, I'll quit my job and do this full time."
"Suit yourself."Cao Yang headed upstairs to sleep.
Li Yan packed up and prepared to leave.
"It's almost 3 a.m. Only five hours left. Why don't you stay and sleep upstairs? Saves you the trip."
Li Yan shook her head rapidly.
Cao Yang's loft was tiny and cramped; you couldn't even stand upright.The bathroom didn't even have a showerhead—just a bucket.And most importantly…
She was afraid he'd pounce on her.
This brat was getting bolder. Last time he had practically touched her everywhere.She wasn't ready to sleep with him yet—and staying overnight meant she'd probably get ravaged until she screamed.
Seeing her flee made Cao Yang chuckle.He took a cold shower and quickly fell asleep.
Not long after he drifted off, someone began pounding on the door.
Cao Yang checked the time and felt like swearing.Li Yan said 8 a.m., yet it was only a bit past 5.
"Open up!"