Chapter 31

Before Chen Xida could hand his business card to Cao Yang, Tiexong rushed over and snatched it away.

Tiexong tore the card to pieces and said, “Xida, quit scheming to take my man! He’s my blood brother. Get the hell away from him!”

Chen Xida glared, about to lash out, when Jim patted him on the shoulder.
“Xida, you bet and you lost. Don’t think about poaching him.”

Chen Xida snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and left.

Cao Yang followed Tiexong and Jim out of the factory, where he saw their men struggling to carry heavy bags—clearly packed with the money they had won that day. He figured it was a lot, but he didn’t ask and they didn’t say.

Jim invited Cao Yang and Tiexong to the Nightingale Club. Tiexong refused.
Tiexong in turn invited Jim to his Mingzhu Nightclub. Jim refused.
Jim waved at them and gave Cao Yang a long, meaningful look before getting in his car and leaving.

“Brother, your leg injury isn’t too bad, right?”
In the car, Tiexong warmly slung an arm over Cao Yang’s shoulder, treating him like real family.

Cao Yang shook his head, then looked down at his phone. More than ten missed calls—all from Li Yan.

“Brother, you helped me today, I have to treat you! Come with me to the nightclub. Pick any girl you like, the whole place is on me—I’ll let you sleep with the entire club!” Tiexong said with a lewd grin.

Cao Yang imagined the scene, tempted, but still shook his head. “Next time. I want to go home and rest.”

Since he refused, Tiexong didn’t push further. He asked for Cao Yang’s address to send him home.

But Cao Yang didn’t want them knowing Li Yan’s place, so he asked to be dropped at the convenience store.

Before leaving, Tiexong told him the underground fights happened every week. He told Cao Yang to rest and join again next time.
Cao Yang refused, saying he wasn’t coming back.
Tiexong only smiled, waved, and left without replying.

---

Cao Yang limped back to the inn and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Li Yan’s voice was cautious.
“It’s me.”
Hearing his voice, she rushed to open the door.

“Where have you been?” Her eyes were red.

She knew there would be a brawl at the shop tonight, but she had been too scared to go. When she finally went to check, she only found bloodstains and no trace of him. Locals said over a dozen had been cut down—she feared Cao Yang was among them.

She had been calling him nonstop, with no answer. She truly thought something had happened.

“What’s wrong? Were you crying?” Cao Yang asked curiously.

“Cry, my ass! I was just worried you’d die and no one would pay me back!” she snapped, unwilling to admit the truth.

“Don’t be stubborn. If you care about me, just say it.”

Cao Yang flopped onto her bed, slipped an arm around her waist, and told her what had happened. He skimmed over the fighting, but gave great detail about Tiexong inviting him to the Mingzhu Nightclub, especially describing the women’s “big assets.”

“Why are you holding my waist while talking?” Li Yan muttered.
“Did you sleep with those women?”
“Of course not. I was thinking about you, Sister Yan. How could I fool around with them?”
“Cao Yang, don’t talk nonsense. I’m your sister—you can’t think that way about me.”
“Just touching a little is fine, no funny business!” she warned, biting her lip.

Cao Yang let go.
“What, stopped already?”
“You’re too flat!”
“You bastard! Go to hell!” Li Yan punched him. She was tall and slender, so naturally not as busty as curvier women.

As they scuffled, her phone rang.
“Who is it?”
“Xiaoyan, why haven’t you been to work lately?” A woman’s voice—it was Manager Xu from the Nightingale Club.
“I went back to my hometown.”
“And your brother?”
“He did too.”
“Xiaoyan, you can’t even lie properly. Your brother was just with Jim.”

Li Yan was speechless.

Xu laughed: “Don’t worry, we mean no harm. Jim said if you want to come back, he’ll give you a manager’s position, over four thousand yuan a month.”

In the past, Li Yan would have jumped at the offer. But now she wasn’t impressed. Four thousand? She could earn that on the slot machines in two days. And why would such a good thing fall on her lap now?

She looked at Cao Yang. He shook his head.

Cao Yang wasn’t stupid. Calling Li Yan back with a promotion clearly had to do with him. Jim wanted him to keep fighting for money.

But Cao Yang had no interest. If he wanted money, he’d rather fight for himself and bet on himself—not make money for them.

Li Yan politely refused. Xu wasn’t offended, and told her if she ever had trouble, she could go to Jim at the Nightingale Club. Then she hung up.

“They sound nice, but won’t they come bother us again?” Li Yan asked worriedly.
Cao Yang shook his head. “Probably not. We made them money. It wouldn’t make sense for them to cause trouble now.”

---

The next morning, Li Yan went to her clothing shop job. She hadn’t quit yet.

Cao Yang slept until noon. He checked room 213—Old Xu had already cleaned it out, ready to rent again.

He sighed. Lei Dian, A Liang, and Jiawei had been his first friends here. One went back home, two got arrested—likely facing years in prison.

Was he sad? Not really. They had only been casual friends, not close like Lei Dian. He just felt a bit sentimental.

At the shop, he opened up for business as usual. Customers trickled in to play, business was steady.

With Jim’s word, the Sichuan gang didn’t cause trouble. Instead, Shanying from the Hunan gang came—but this time not for protection fees, only to play. He cheerfully exchanged tokens, lost 500 yuan, then invited Cao Yang to dinner. Cao Yang refused. Shanying’s smile vanished as he spat, “Acting all high and mighty, huh?!” and left.

At 6 p.m., Li Yan returned from work carrying a bag with two sets of men’s clothes.

“These are the latest styles from our shop. Try them on, and if they don’t fit, I’ll exchange them.”

Upstairs, Cao Yang tried them on, smiling in satisfaction. “They fit well. Thanks, Sister Yan.”

“What are you thanking me for?”
“For buying me new clothes. No one besides my mom has ever done that.”
Li Yan giggled. “Then stop calling me Sister Yan. Call me Mom Yan instead.”
“If I call you Mom Yan, will you breastfeed me?”
“You’re looking for death!” She punched him.

“Boss! Exchange tokens!” a customer shouted downstairs.

Li Yan shoved him away, wiped her lips, straightened her clothes, glared fiercely at him, and hurried downstairs to handle the customer.