Chapter 20: Borrowing Money

“Cao Yang, let go of me!” Li Yan began to plead.

“Stop making a fuss, I’ll give you the money.” Li Yan’s face turned as red as a monkey’s behind.

“Stop right now!”

“I’ll lend you the money, I promise I’ll lend it to you!”

“How much?”

“Three thousand. I’ll lend you three thousand if you let me go!”

Upon hearing her say three thousand, Cao Yang reluctantly withdrew his large hand and loosened his grip on Li Yan’s.

Li Yan sighed in relief but felt a little disappointed—this guy was totally blinded by money!

Cao Yang put the three hundred he had into his bag and then reached out to Li Yan again, asking her for three thousand.

Li Yan tidied her skirt irritably. “I don’t have cash on me. I’ll get it for you first thing tomorrow.”

“And also, you’re not allowed to be so unreasonable with me from now on!”

“How am I being unreasonable?”

“You groped me all over. If the villagers find out, who am I supposed to marry? You?”

Cao Yang said nothing.

“Go sleep in your own bed!”

“I’m not leaving. I’m afraid that when I wake up, you’ll be gone with your bags.”

“Like hell! What do you want then?”

“I want to sleep with you, hold you so you can’t run away!”

“Aren’t you too old to be sleeping with your sister?”

“Well, didn’t we sleep together that one time?” Cao Yang grabbed Li Yan’s waist without hesitation, resting one foot on her body just like last time, treating her like a doll.

Holding her softness, inhaling her fragrance, Cao Yang drifted comfortably to sleep.

Being embraced by a strong man, Li Yan felt comfortable too, though she had to keep up appearances and pretend to resist. Inside, she was thoroughly enjoying it.

…

The standoff between Tie Xiong and Jim finally ended when the police arrived.

There was no way a fight could break out with hundreds armed—did they think the police were useless?!

They had lost the last turf war. This time, Tie Xiong deliberately stirred trouble just to save face and tell his brothers, “I’ve settled with them; don’t think I’m easy to bully.”

Now he was back in his own factory yard, laughing heartily while holding a beautiful woman.

“Brother Xiong, what’s got you so happy?” The woman teased him in his arms, making one think he had really taken down Jim.

“I found a talent today. His skills are excellent. Tomorrow I’m taking him to see the Guangxi gang to vent some anger!” Tie Xiong called over a henchman. “Call that kid and tell him to come find me tomorrow.”

“Yes, Brother Xiong.” The henchman pulled out a note with the number Cao Yang had left.

“Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service.”

The henchman checked the note carefully and redialed.

“Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service.”

“Brother Xiong, the number the kid left is disconnected. We can’t reach him.”

“Damn it! Are you sure you got it right?!”

“Yes, I remember clearly. This is the number!”

“Bullshit! You must have written it down wrong!” Tie Xiong slapped the henchman on the forehead and cursed him.

The henchman looked aggrieved but checked the number’s origin and found it wasn’t from Guangdong or Hunan, but Shanxi.

“Boss, maybe that kid is playing us?”

“Does he dare? Even if he had ten lives, he wouldn’t dare!” Tie Xiong said this, but in his heart he was suspicious. Since the kid agreed so easily last night, he was beginning to believe the henchman. Maybe the kid really was messing with him!

He slammed his fist on the tea table. “Damn it! If I catch you, you’re dead!”

…

Early the next morning, Li Yan was shaken awake by Cao Yang. She looked at him with displeasure.

“Stop sleeping, we’re going out to get the money.”

“Get the money? What money?” Li Yan looked confused, as if she had forgotten the previous night.

“Yan Jie, don’t mess around, or I’ll have to come again,” Cao Yang threatened.

Li Yan reluctantly got up. “I’m changing clothes, close your eyes.”

Cao Yang obediently shut his eyes but peeked when she was undressing, taking in her slender and tall figure, feeling a flush of heat.

He thought, hold on, get the money first, then deal with her.

Li Yan turned and saw Cao Yang peeking, so she punched him in the chest in anger.

She dawdled changing, then as she was about to leave said she wanted breakfast first, after breakfast needed the bathroom, after the bathroom said she had twisted her ankle and couldn’t go today, postponing until tomorrow.

Cao Yang was so angry he just picked her up and headed straight for the bank.

“Put me down! Put me down!” Li Yan struck him, embarrassing herself in front of the onlookers.

Cao Yang set her down and urged her to hurry.

“Cao Yang, I can’t lend you this money.”

Hearing this, Cao Yang was about to lose his temper but Li Yan stopped him.

“I thought about it all night. If I lend you the money and you lose it, how will you pay me back? Your family already owes a lot. If you don’t repay me, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Don’t worry, the slot machines can be controlled. It’s guaranteed profit!”

“I know, but I’m worried you’ll offend people. Yesterday we already upset the Hunan gang. What if we offend the Sichuan gang too? Then we’ll have to move again, and your safety can’t be guaranteed. I don’t want to see you get into trouble.”

“What are you afraid of? Didn’t you see last night? A few guys can’t even get close to me!”

“But there were thirty or fifty of them!”

“That’s fine too. If I can’t fight them, can’t I run?”

To convince her, Cao Yang dashed one hundred meters away, then quickly came back.

“Look at my speed—who can catch me?”

Li Yan shook her head. “Still no. If I lend you the money, if you make a profit, you only pay me back the principal, but if you lose, I bear the risk. That’s not fair.”

Cao Yang tilted his head. “What do you mean? You want high interest?”

“Come on, if you don’t pay me back the principal, there’s nothing I can do, let alone high interest!”

“Well, then…”

“What I mean is this: I give you the money. If you lose, it’s a loan and you must pay me back promptly. If you profit, consider it an investment and we split fifty-fifty. How about that?”

Cao Yang pinched her cheek. It was soft and tender, but how was her face so thick-skinned?

“If you don’t agree, that’s fine. I won’t force you.”

“I agree! I never said no!”

“Then let’s write a contract.”

Li Yan took paper and pen from her bag, squatted down, and began to write seriously.

Cao Yang watched, speechless, cursing inwardly.

Li Yan first wrote a promissory note for Cao Yang to sign and imprint his fingerprint on. Without ink, she used her lipstick.

Then she wrote a partnership agreement. When it came to the profit split, she looked up at Cao Yang.

“Is asking for a fifty-fifty split a bit much?”

“Not at all! It’s perfectly reasonable!” Cao Yang just wanted the money quickly. Even if it were ninety-one to nine, he’d agree.

“Forget it, how about forty-six to fifty-four? You take six, I take four, so no one can say I’m bullying you.”