The person who entered was a woman—an extremely beautiful one.
If Cao Yang had to rate girls, Li Yan would be an 8.7, Lei Yu a 9, and this woman in front of him… at least a 9.5.
And that was because she looked slightly older, dressed like a mature young woman—maybe even someone who'd given birth. Otherwise, she'd score even higher.
Actually, now that he thought about it, maybe her age and style were exactly what gave her that unique charm.
"Hello, young man." The woman extended her hand with a bright, dazzling smile, showing perfect white teeth. Her smile was warm like spring sunshine, making Cao Yang feel no hostility at all.
"H-Hello…" Cao Yang stiffly reached out and shook her hand. Her skin was smooth like jade, cool and delicate.
"My name is Hu Qing. I'm the general manager here. I'm sorry we had to 'invite' you in such a manner."
Hu Qing was beautiful, sweet-voiced, polite and gentle—completely opposite of what Cao Yang had expected. His mind couldn't switch gears fast enough.
"Sit, young man." Hu Qing gestured gracefully and even brewed a cup of tea for him herself.
After taking a sip, Cao Yang finally snapped back to reality and remembered why he came.
"I've brought the stuff. You should release the girl now."
Hu Qing smiled sweetly without even glancing at the chip he'd brought. She pressed a button on her desk, and the office door opened. Sun Xiao poked his head in.
"Bring the little girl over."
Soon, Lei Yu was led into the office. Her eyes were red—she hadn't expected Cao Yang to actually come for her, and she was moved to the point of tears.
Cao Yang saw her clothes were intact and she wasn't hurt, and he finally relaxed.
"Sister Hu," he said, "I've brought what you wanted. Can I take her and leave now?"
Hu Qing smiled. "You think you can walk away just because you brought the goods—after trying to steal from us and injuring our men?"
"It wasn't me who wanted to steal anything. You forced my friend to swallow it. My friend was delivering your goods; two of his brothers died because of it. And then you demanded compensation. How could he possibly pay?! You forced him!"
"What do you mean?" Hu Qing frowned. She had never heard anything about "compensation."
Cao Yang repeated what Lei Dian had told him. Hu Qing fell silent.
They would never demand compensation from the carriers. Once someone was already detained, asking for payment made no sense. But she couldn't deny that some of the men under her might have said harsh things to scare the carriers.
She smiled lightly. "This was a misunderstanding. We don't do such things. Some of the men below me may have said scary things, but just treat it as a misunderstanding."
"Since it's a misunderstanding, can we go now?"
"No." Hu Qing shook her head. "You still injured our men. We need to discuss that."
Cao Yang thought for a moment. "How about I pay for their medical bills?"
"Hahaha…" Hu Qing burst into laughter—more boldly than most men.
"Seven of our ten brothers ended up in the hospital because of you. And you want to pay medical bills? Do you think the Yi He Hui is short on money for that?"
"Then what do you want?" Cao Yang felt something was off. Instinctively, he shielded Lei Yu behind him and glanced toward the window, weighing whether to jump with her—or take this woman hostage.
After thinking it through, taking her hostage seemed far more feasible.
This was the seventh floor. He wasn't sure he could land safely alone—taking Lei Yu with him would be suicide.
"No need to panic," Hu Qing said, noticing his tension. "If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have let you get this close to me."
"I'll be direct," she continued. "Our Yi He Hui is hungry for talent. We want someone like you. Are you interested in working under me?"
She wasn't lying—she was busy every day, and normally wouldn't bother with such small matters. But hearing someone had taken down ten of her men alone… she was intrigued.
"Work under you?" Cao Yang looked at her skeptically. A woman mixing in the underworld?
"What? You look down on me?"
"No, no…" He shook his head quickly.
"What benefits do I get if I work for you?"
That question made Hu Qing freeze.
Benefits? She didn't really know how to answer.
She could say he'd make money, but she only wanted him as a high-level enforcer or bodyguard—people like that usually just received a salary.
"I can give you a good salary," she said stiffly, unsure if it would tempt him.
"How much a month?" Cao Yang asked, unimpressed. Salary could only be so high.
Hu Qing held up two fingers, then, thinking it seemed too little, added a third.
"Three thousand?" Cao Yang asked, puzzled.
"Thirty thousand."
Thirty thousand was a huge salary in those years—but Cao Yang wasn't impressed.
He had 600,000 yuan in cash on hand. Money wasn't an issue. Besides, if he really needed money, he could earn more fighting underground matches with Tie Xiong.
More importantly, he didn't want to rely on violence. That wasn't the future he wanted.
"If I refuse, will you let us go?"
"Of course." Hu Qing's expression dimmed slightly. She added, "Thirty thousand a month might not interest you, but there are other benefits. If you become someone important to us, join our business… your income will be beyond imagination."
She was clearly hinting that thirty thousand was just the entry-level salary; his real prospects would depend on loyalty and value.
But Cao Yang wasn't interested in her sales pitch. "Can I think about it for a few days?"
Hu Qing paused. She knew it was an excuse, but after two seconds of thought, she still nodded.
"Alright."
"So we can leave now?"
"Go ahead." Hu Qing wasn't angry at being rejected. She even handed him a business card. "Call me if you make up your mind. Or if you run into trouble."
"Thanks." Cao Yang accepted the card and led Lei Yu out.
Outside, a row of black-clothed guards stared at them coldly.
At first glance, they looked pretty cool. But when Cao Yang imagined himself standing in a line like that, he suddenly felt they looked like idiots.
...
"Boss lady, you're just letting them go?" Sun Xiao walked in with two bags.
Hu Qing nodded. "Otherwise what? Kill them? Beat them up?"
"At least teach that kid a lesson. Let him know the consequences of offending the Yi He Hui."
Hu Qing smiled and shook her head. "Such a tiny matter—don't make a big deal out of it. Hurry and deliver the goods to the client."
Sun Xiao nodded, picking up the bags Cao Yang had brought. He dumped the contents onto the table and combined them with the goods he had brought.
If Cao Yang had still been there, he would have been shocked—the other two batches of goods that were supposedly seized by the coast guard were right here.
What he didn't know was that the Yi He Hui had a lot of power. Even if the coast guard seized something, they could still retrieve it.
You might wonder—if they were so capable, why send Lei Dian and the others to deliver the goods? Why not just take them openly?
That was a matter of cost. Sending Lei Dian and the others cost practically nothing. Getting the goods back from the coast guard cost dozens—sometimes hundreds—of times more.