Chen Yi knew that Zhang Shi was Zhai Fengmao's right-hand man and his executor in Tengcheng. Chen Yi had heard about Zhai Fengmao's rise to wealth—in the 1990s, he was involved in gang fights in Hong Kong, and it was rumored he made his fortune through a military factory in Myanmar before washing his hands of it and gradually transitioning into the identity of a Hong Kong investor. The only remaining trace of his past now was his nightclub business. Anyone involved in the underworld was inevitably tied to vices like prostitution, gambling, and drugs.
Around that time, an incident occurred: a local food processing company faced operational issues and couldn’t secure a bank loan. Through an intermediary, they borrowed ten million in usurious loans from Zhai Fengmao. Through the principal and interest of this loan, Zhai Fengmao eventually gained controlling shares of the food processing company, ousting all the old shareholders from management. Zhai Fengmao didn’t attend the shareholder change meeting himself; Chen Yi, acting as the driver, took Zhang Shi and his partners to the meeting. That day, the entire staff protested, but Chen Yi, alert and perceptive, had sensed trouble brewing beforehand and avoided the major clash among shareholders. This caught Zhang Shi’s attention, who praised Chen Yi a couple of times with appreciation.
The birthday banquet lasted until two or three in the morning. Chen Yi, thoroughly drunk, was carried upstairs to a guest room by Dayong and Dai Mao. He kept mumbling about going home. By daybreak, after much struggle, they finally got him home. When he knocked on the door, Miao Jing answered with a frosty expression, her brows tightly furrowed. She let Dayong dump Chen Yi onto the sofa but refused to let him into the bedroom, worried he might vomit and she’d have to clean up. Throughout, she didn’t lift a finger to help or even offer a cup of hot tea.
Dayong and Dai Mao exchanged a few awkward words; Miao Jing, noticing lipstick stains still on their faces, coldly saw them out and slammed the door shut.
Dayong nudged Dai Mao’s arm.
“Do you think Yi Ge has a masochistic streak? He provides so well for his sister, and this is the treatment he gets—not even allowed on the bed. If she were my girl, I’d have slapped her silly.”
“Top students are all arrogant; they look down on people like us.”
That morning, Miao Jing didn’t go to school. She sat by the sofa, placed a damp towel on Chen Yi’s face, and wiped away the cream cake and party glitter from his cheeks. Chen Yi frowned, groggily opening his eyes. Beneath his thick lashes, his deep, intense gaze fixed directly on her before he suddenly leaned in. Miao Jing tilted her head away, just evading his move.
Some things were either mutually understood or silently acknowledged—that thin veil hadn’t been pierced yet. Perhaps it could be chalked up to a foggy mind or sheer instinct, but what exactly lay between them?
“Aren’t you going to school?”
“I’m off today.”
“The tutoring fee is due tomorrow. There are only five and a half months left until the college entrance exam. The school has changed to half a day off per week.”
“Hmm.” His voice was hoarse. “What kind of college do you want to go to for the exam?”
“What do you think?”
“Didn’t your homeroom teacher say you could get into a good university? Where do you want to go?”
“Just one of those first or second-tier cities,” she pondered. “Chen Yi, have you thought about signing up for the adult college entrance exam? There are plenty of opportunities to study.”
“No.”
Sprawled openly on the sofa, eyes closed, he declared with ambition, “I’m staying in Tengcheng. In a few years, it’ll be my time to shine.”
She turned to him and asked, “How do you plan to shine?”"Be the boss, make big money." His eyes burned with ambition. "Do you know how much assets Boss Zhai I'm following has? Total assets over two billion, dozens of companies under him. Everyone in Tengcheng gives him face. All I lack is opportunity and luck... and now the opportunity has come..."
Miao Jing bit her lip: "Collecting loan shark debts or forcing demolitions? Being an enforcer or planting listening devices?"
"I know my limits." Chen Yi's gaze turned dark and fierce: "Society needs rule-followers like you, but it also needs people like me who aren't picky about methods."
When minds don't meet, even half a sentence feels too much. This topic always ended in disagreement.
"You go to the big city, attend your university, see the world." He propped his legs on the coffee table, leisurely pulling out a cigarette case. Nowadays he always carried a pack of premium cigarettes in his pocket, occasionally enjoying one himself. He lowered his head to light it, the rich tobacco scent spreading through the living room. "I'll stay in Tengcheng, fighting for my future."
Miao Jing's eyes asked him what then?
Chen Yi held the smoke in his mouth before slowly exhaling: "What happens later... we'll talk about it in three to five years."
His slender fingers dangling, Chen Yi flicked the ash lightly. Just three to five years - he could absolutely foresee his future. He would climb using Zhai Fengmao as his backing, making some waves. By that time—
He'd drive luxury cars, live in mansions, and personally go bring her back.
Chapter 32: Even Dump Trucks Are Classier Than Him
Chapter 32
The moment Chen Yi got up, Miao Jing instantly woke. Having curled on the sofa all night, both of them were sore and stiff.
When one's body feels comfortable, they can briefly make peace with the world. A faint whistling came from the bathroom. Minutes later, Chen Yi threw the half-damp towel he'd just used over her head, his light tone utterly arrogant: "Going to shower?"
They had argued fiercely yesterday, then had that encounter in the early morning. The situation couldn't be more bizarre.
Speaking of which, who won yesterday?
Miao Jing was only wearing underwear, her dress fallen by the sofa stained with spots, the sensation still faintly lingering on her inner thighs. Her body indeed wasn't exactly comfortable. She lifted her eyelids to give him an ambiguous look. Chen Yi pressed his tongue against his inner cheek, flashing a wicked, dissolute smile.
Even dump trucks were classier than him.
Lazily sitting on the sofa to make up for a cigarette, his cigarette-holding hand casually draped over the sofa edge. Remembering something, his brows unconsciously furrowed slightly, until he saw Miao Jing come out and head straight into his room. She rummaged through his wardrobe, finally pulling out his clothes.
What? Emptied her own room, left without proper clothing, and still ended up wearing his clothes to go out?
Miao Jing calmly put on his white T-shirt, rolled up the overly long sleeves, then selected a pair of floor-dragging trousers. Holding the waistband, she went to the next room to find something, got a silk ribbon as a belt, tucked the shirt hem into the waistband, loosely rolled the trouser legs to her feet, put on high heels, covered with a jacket, her cool, pretty face set in determination.
Chen Yi really couldn't help but whistle. The visual effect was sweetly soft yet sharp and spirited - this beautiful girl wearing his clothes. Whether wearing them or not, she was the epitome of sexiness.
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