"Holy crap! That much money?! Am I dreaming?!"
Li Yan pinched herself.It hurt—so it wasn't a dream.She zipped the bag shut, hugged it like a treasure chest, and hurried up to the attic.
"Fifty-six… fifty-seven… fifty-eight…"She dumped the cash out and began counting stack by stack.
"Why is it fifty-eight thousand? Shouldn't it be sixty? Or maybe thirty?"
"I gave Lei Yu twenty thousand."
"Aren't you two supposed to split it half-half?"Suspicion flashed in Li Yan's eyes, then she snorted viciously."Giving her twenty thousand is already generous. But will that little tramp stop there?"
Cao Yang stared at her like she was an idiot.
"What's with that look?" Li Yan frowned. Then something clicked."Wait—if you guys got the money, why are the chips still here?"
Cao Yang, in full bragging mode, told her the whole story.By the end of it, Li Yan's expression had turned stormy.
"So this money is basically yours, not the payment for the goods. And you took your own money and gave that little tramp twenty thousand?"
"Why do you keep calling her that? She didn't provoke you."
"Oh? So quick to defend her now? Very good, Cao Yang. I'm with you every day, and the moment you strike it rich, you don't say a damn word about giving me anything. But you hand twenty thousand to an outsider, just like that? Amazing!"
Her expression was full-on resentful-wife mode.
"Alright, alright, stop nagging. Here—take twenty thousand."Cao Yang stuffed two bundles into her arms.
He thought she'd light up with joy.Instead, she looked even more upset.
"So in your heart, Lei Yu and I weigh the same, right?"
"That's not it. I weigh less than her, don't I? You only gave me this because you gave her money first. It's just compensation. You didn't want to give me anything. Giving her money was from the heart, right?"
Cao Yang's head throbbed."I'll give you an extra ten thousand, okay!?"
"I don't want ten thousand. I want all of it!"
"Dream on!"
"Hmph! Leave the money with me—I'll keep it safe. Otherwise some random slut outside will swindle you!"
"Stop messing around. I'm sending money home to pay off my mom's debt. I want to improve her life a bit."
"That's fine, but you can't rush it. If you send a huge amount all at once, your mom will freak out and start asking where it came from—and you won't have an answer."
"We have to go slow. Send one thousand first. Then say our business made more money, and gradually send the rest."
Cao Yang nodded—she had a point.But his stomach still felt heavy.This money clearly wasn't going to be trouble-free.
Right then, his phone rang.Lei Yu.
She should be on the train by now, he thought.
Li Yan saw the caller ID.She snatched the phone and immediately exploded:
"You shameless tramp! Don't call my little brother!"
The person on the other end paused—then a man's voice came through:
"Who are you? Put Cao Yang on the phone."
"Oh? And who the hell are you? Lei Yu's secret boyfriend?"
"I'm your father! Give the phone to Cao Yang!"
"And I'm your mother, you stupid piece of crap!"
Li Yan and the man launched into a full-on verbal brawl.
Cao Yang recognized the voice—buzz-cut guy.
He grabbed the phone.His voice dropped cold.
"What do you want?"
"Kid, your woman is in my hands. If you want to save her, bring the goods to the location I send you. If you're late… accidents happen."
The call ended.A location text immediately followed.
Cao Yang stood up.Li Yan pulled him down hard.
"You're NOT going!"
"Am I stupid? Of course I'm not going!"
Cao Yang had a good impression of Lei Yu—but like?Love?Come on. They'd only met twice.He wasn't throwing his life away for that.
Buzz-cut guy's crew got crushed earlier because they underestimated him.But with proper prep?On their turf?With guns—likely more than one this time?
Going there was suicide.
He told Li Yan what he was thinking.Only then did she relax—she was genuinely afraid he'd go play hero and get himself killed over Lei Yu.
"Pack up. We're leaving."Cao Yang grabbed the money and the chips.
"Where are we going?" Li Yan asked, confused.
"Lei Yu's been caught. She and Lei Dian both know our address. If we don't leave now, those guys will come straight to us!"
He didn't believe Lei Yu would keep silent under threats.Even if she did, Lei Dian would spill everything to save his sister.
No way he was gambling on that.
Li Yan finally understood.She locked the door, and they fled.
They grabbed a taxi, wandered aimlessly for a while, then checked into a hotel.
"What do we do now? Should we leave town—or go back to our hometown?"Li Yan hugged the money bag tightly, shaking.
Cao Yang nodded, lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply.
Before leaving the store, he'd left the chips on the counter.If those people came, they'd see it immediately.Maybe… once they retrieved the goods, they'd stop chasing him.
Maybe.
He hadn't even finished the cigarette when his phone rang again—Lei Dian.
He begged Cao Yang in tears, asking him to hand the stuff over, pleading for his sister's life.
Cao Yang told him, "The goods are in the shop. Go get them yourself."
A few minutes later, Lei Dian called again.
"They want you. They said the goods don't matter anymore—they're more interested in you."
Interested?For what?
Obviously for revenge.
Li Yan heard everything.She grabbed the phone, cursed Lei Dian out, hung up, and shut the phone off entirely.
Then she threw her arms around Cao Yang.
"You're NOT going!"
"I already said I'm not," Cao Yang forced a smile.
"I'm scared you'll suddenly do something stupid!"
"I won't."
…
Suddenly, Li Yan pressed her lips against his—kissing him deeply.
"Yan-jie, what are you—?"Cao Yang froze.This came out of nowhere.
"You wanted to sleep with me, right? Fine. Come. I'll let you. Just stop thinking about all that trouble!"
She leaned in for another kiss.
Cao Yang wasn't a saint—and Yan-jie was practically handing herself over.
He responded.
Soon, they were tangled together kissing, and Cao Yang pushed her gently onto the bed, hands slipping under her clothes.
Under his touch, Li Yan quickly went soft all over.
Piece by piece, her clothes came off, until she lay there completely bare—a helpless little lamb.
"Cao Yang… Cao Yang…"She whispered his name breathlessly, tugging at his belt, inviting more.
"Yan-jie… should we shower first?"
Li Yan shot him a playful glare—Now he wanted to be proper?
Still, she got up, walked naked into the bathroom, and just before closing the door, peeked out:
"…You wanna shower together?"
Water began running.Her silhouette blurred behind the frosted glass.
But instead of excitement, Cao Yang's thoughts drifted to Lei Yu—that beautiful girl, kidnapped by a gang of men…
What were they doing to her right now?
His chest tightened.