Chen Sida's business card hadn't even reached Cao Yang yet before Tie Xiong snatched it away.
Tie Xiong tore the card to pieces."Sida, don't you dare try poaching my guy! He's my own brother. Get the hell away!"
Chen Sida glared at him, ready to explode—But Jim stepped up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Sida, a loss is a loss. Don't think about stealing people."
Chen Sida snorted coldly and stormed off.
Cao Yang walked out of the factory with Tie Xiong and Jim. Their men carried large, heavy bags—obviously all the money they had won tonight.Cao Yang didn't ask how much. They didn't say, and he didn't care.
Jim invited Cao Yang and Tie Xiong to the Nightingale Club.Tie Xiong refused.
Tie Xiong invited Jim to Mingzhu Nightclub.Jim refused.
Jim waved at the two, gave Cao Yang a deep look, then got in his car and left.
"Bro, your leg okay?"In the car, Tie Xiong draped an arm over Cao Yang's shoulder with genuine warmth, like a real big brother concerned for his sibling.
Cao Yang shook his head. He looked down at his phone—more than ten missed calls, all from Li Yan.
"Brother, you helped me big time today. I have to treat you! Come to the nightclub with me later. Whoever you like, you take her. I'll pay for the whole place—go wild!" Tie Xiong said with a filthy grin.
Cao Yang imagined the scene for a second.It was… tempting.
But he still shook his head. "Next time. I want to go home and rest."
Since he refused, Tie Xiong didn't push. He asked where Cao Yang lived so he could drop him off.
Cao Yang had no intention of letting them know Li Yan's address, so he asked them to drop him at the convenience shop instead.
Before he left, Tie Xiong told him that this underground fight happened once every week—told him to rest up and come again next week.
Cao Yang rejected him immediately, saying he wouldn't go again.
Tie Xiong just laughed and waved it off, not taking the refusal seriously.
Cao Yang limped up to the motel and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Li Yan sounded cautious.
"It's me."
The moment she heard Cao Yang's voice, she rushed over and opened the door.
"Where did you go?" she asked, eyes red.
She knew there was a fight at the shop tonight. She was too scared to go.When she finally worked up the courage to sneak over, all she saw was blood on the ground—and no sign of Cao Yang.
Someone said more than ten men had been cut down.Her heart clenched.
She called him over and over. He didn't answer.She thought something had really happened to him.
"Were you crying?" Cao Yang raised a brow.
"Cry your ass! I was worried if you died, who'd pay me back?" Li Yan snapped, refusing to admit it.
"Don't pretend. If you're worried about me, just say so."
Cao Yang lay down on her bed, wrapped an arm around her waist, and told her about everything that happened.He brushed over the fighting part, but heavily described Tie Xiong inviting him to Mingzhu Nightclub—and especially the two women with massive chests.
"You can talk without holding my waist…" Li Yan muttered.
"You… didn't actually sleep with them, did you?" she asked, eyes narrowing.
"Of course not. I was thinking of you, Yan-jie. How could I mess around with them?"
"Cao Yang, don't talk nonsense. I'm your older sister. You can't think of me like that."
"Fine. Touching only. No messing around," she said, biting her lip in warning.
Cao Yang immediately removed his hand.
"…Why did you stop touching?"
"You're too small."
"You bastard! Go die!"Li Yan swung a fist at him. She was tall and slim—of course she couldn't compare to those voluptuous nightclub girls.
As they wrestled around, her phone rang.
"Who is it?"
"Xiao Yan, why haven't you been at work lately?"A female voice—Manager Xu from the Nightingale Club.
"I went back to my hometown."
"And your little brother?"
"He went home too."
"Xiao Yan, you're terrible at lying," Manager Xu chuckled. "Your brother was just with Brother Jim earlier."
Li Yan froze.
Manager Xu continued, "Don't worry, we mean no harm. Brother Jim says if you're willing to come back, he'll make you a manager. Salary over four thousand a month."
If this were before, Li Yan would've rushed over joyfully.But now? She didn't care much.
Four thousand?Her slot machines made that in two days.And why would such a good offer suddenly land on her head?
She looked at Cao Yang.Cao Yang simply shook his head.
He wasn't stupid.They wanted Li Yan back because of him.Jim wanted to get closer to him—so he could fight again and make them money.
But Cao Yang had zero interest in fighting for them.If he wanted money, he could bet on himself. Why let others profit?
Li Yan politely turned down the offer.Manager Xu didn't get angry. She simply said that if they ever ran into trouble, they could come to the Nightingale Club for help—and hung up.
"Do you think they're really being nice? Or will they come after us again?" Li Yan asked nervously.
Cao Yang shook his head. "Should be fine. After helping them win money, it'd be unreasonable to cause trouble."
The next day, Li Yan left early for her shift at the clothing store—she hadn't quit that job yet.
Cao Yang slept until noon.He went to check Room 213—the room was already cleaned up by Old Xu, ready to rent again.
He sighed.
Lei Dian, A-Liang, and Jiawei were the first friends he made here.Now one went home, and the other two got arrested—likely facing years in prison.
Was he sad?
Not really.He wasn't close to the latter two. And even with Lei Dian, the bond was limited.Still, it made him sigh.
He returned to the shop and opened as usual.
Players came in steadily. Business was good as always.
Thanks to Jim's word, the Sichuan gang didn't show up again.But Mountain Hawk from the Hunan gang returned—this time not to collect fees, but to gamble.
He happily exchanged tokens with Cao Yang and lost 500 yuan.As he left, he invited Cao Yang to dinner—Cao Yang refused.
The moment he turned around, Mountain Hawk scowled and spat,"Acting all high and mighty!"
At 6PM, Li Yan returned from work.
She carried a bag with two sets of men's clothing.
"These are the newest arrivals at the store. I picked two sets for you. Try them—if they don't fit, I'll exchange them."
Cao Yang changed upstairs. The fit was perfect.
"Looks great. Thanks, Yan-jie."
"What are you thanking me for?"
"For buying me clothes. No one's ever bought me clothes except my mom."
Li Yan giggled. "Then stop calling me Yan-jie. Call me Mama Yan."
"If I call you Mama Yan, will you breastfeed me?"
"Get lost!" She punched him hard.
"Boss! Exchange tokens!" someone shouted downstairs.
Li Yan shoved Cao Yang aside, wiped the corner of her lips, straightened her clothes, glared at him fiercely, and rushed downstairs.