Chapter 91 Chapter 089: The Rich Heir Starting a Business

“Yeah, that kid’s in there with a few others pounding the flooring. The planks were just laid, so they’re hammering them down tighter.”

Feng Zhixiao pointed toward the cordoned-off room inside, then whispered beside Ye Chen’s ear, “Brother Chen, to be honest, I think Jiang Wei is pretty decent. He knows how to conduct himself, and he’s tough too. These past few days he’s been here working alongside the rest of us, never once complaining that it was hard or tiring.”

“He really is not bad.” Ye Chen nodded, then walked in with an unlit cigarette between his lips.

Jiang Wei was inside with several dyed-haired punks, all of them pounding the floor. One red-haired youth clenched his teeth, panting from exhaustion. “Young Master Jiang, with your status, why would you do this kind of work? We should be out drinking and chasing women. And now look at us, doing the sort of labor construction workers do!”

“Exactly, Young Master Jiang. I think we should leave this damned place,” added another blond-haired youth, already worn out, sitting on the floor and gasping for breath. In ordinary times, they drank heavily and strutted around in their pants chasing women; how could they possibly be used to such grueling labor now? One after another, they grumbled bitterly about Jiang Wei’s decision.

Jiang Wei gave a cold smile. “A man should make something of himself. I believe we can succeed here.”

“Good to hear!” Ye Chen came in with the cigarette in his mouth, clapping his hands.

“Big Brother!” Jiang Wei grinned and, seeing that Ye Chen’s cigarette was unlit, hurriedly pulled out a Zippo and leaned in to light it for him. Ye Chen made no pretense of courtesy and simply kept the cigarette in place while Jiang Wei lit it. The others immediately looked displeased. One by one they sprang to their feet, glaring at Ye Chen in anger. “Damn it, who the hell are you to let Young Master Jiang light your cigarette? Do you even know who Young Master Jiang is?”

Everyone turned to Ye Chen. Jiang Wei immediately barked, “Shut up. I lost a bet to Ye Chen before, and I’m willing to honor it. I’m willing to call him Big Brother. Since I’m the little brother, lighting his cigarette is perfectly normal. All of you, shut your mouths!”

The underlings glared at Ye Chen, clearly eager to teach him a lesson. Jiang Wei, however, had no intention of revealing the connection behind him. After all, he wanted to build his own sky with his own hands. What he did not know was that Ye Chen had already long since seen through the forces standing behind him; otherwise, he would not have drawn so close.

Ye Chen strode forward carelessly, nudged a heavy hammer with his foot and sent it skidding away, then planted one foot on a mound of cement and looked at the others coldly. “I’ll give you boys one chance. If you can beat me, then I’ll call you big brother. But if you can’t, then you’d better behave yourselves. How about it?”

“Hmph. So what if you’re good at fighting? Last time we lost because we underestimated you. This time, there’s no way we’ll slip up again!” The men clenched their teeth and raised their weapons. One held the floor hammer; another gripped an iron bar for smashing walls. All five were armed with something.

Ye Chen pinched his cigarette, flicked the ash with a finger, and the gray fell to the floor. Narrowing his eyes, he shot forward in an instant. In the blink of an eye, he had closed in on them. The others immediately shouted, “Brothers, all together! For our good life, beat him down hard!”

With that, they all lunged at once.

The broad-shouldered man holding the sledgehammer was strong and solid, the flesh on his body jiggling with every step. After Ye Chen locked onto him, he lightly touched the wall with one foot, launching himself into the air. Then, while spinning three hundred and sixty degrees midair, he hooked the man’s chin viciously with the toe of his shoe.

The sledgehammer man spat blood and saliva at once, his body flying backward. The heavy hammer in his hand came crashing down squarely onto his own stomach. The man had just opened his eyes when terror filled them instantly. With the blow landing, his stomach seized up violently, and a gush of sour fluid surged from his mouth. After that strike, he no longer had the courage to rise again.

“Attack together and finish him off!” The remaining men rushed at Ye Chen from all sides. Ye Chen said nothing. He dropped one hand to the ground and swept his leg across the floor. In an instant, all of them went down at once. One sweeping kick took out the lot of them. Ye Chen rose from the ground, twirling the cigarette between his fingers, and grinned. “With this much skill, you couldn’t even stuff my teeth.”

Confidence began to rise in Ye Chen. Ever since he had killed the faceless executioner the night before, he had gained a rough understanding of his own fighting ability. In the past, he had always been beaten by Demon Moon, so he had assumed he was nothing special. But after defeating the executioner yesterday, he finally realized that he was actually quite formidable.

“As expected, Big Brother has great skill!” Jiang Wei applauded immediately, then turned to the men sprawled on the floor and snapped, “You lot, if you’re not dead, get up and get back to work. If you’re men, then honor the bet.”

“Jiang Wei, work hard. There’ll be plenty of benefits waiting for you in the future.” Ye Chen gave him a thumbs-up, then said, “I’m heading out.”

“Sure, Big Brother. Take care on the way.” Jiang Wei was all smiles. For some reason, he was growing more and more interested in Ye Chen. Ye Chen’s boldness, his schemes, his fighting ability—everything about him was surprising. A man of unclear background had dared to oppose Yan Buer and even opened a gambling house in Jianghuai City. Jiang Wei was very much looking forward to seeing how he would deal with the Flame Dragon Gang’s attacks in the future.

Ye Chen walked outside, where Feng Zhixiao was still working furiously. Ye Chen suddenly realized he had become superfluous. Helplessly, he could only leave by himself.

He wandered around the university district for a while, but there was nowhere to go. When he passed Nightfall Bar, he was surprised to find it open. Even more surprising, Sister Yan was standing at the entrance, looking at him with a seductive smile.

And as though guided by fate, Ye Chen actually walked in.

He greeted her casually. “Morning, Sister Yan.”

“It’s almost noon already, and you’re still calling it morning?” Sister Yan smiled faintly, then asked curiously, “Ye Chen, isn’t today a workday? Why aren’t you at work?”

“This...” Ye Chen paused, then gave an awkward laugh. “There’s been some misunderstanding. I’ve got a bit of a misunderstanding with Manager Li, and I was just about to resign.”

“Oh? Really?” Sister Yan blinked, then smiled at him playfully. “That’s wonderful. Why don’t you come work for me instead? Whatever Li is paying you, I’ll double it. How about that?”

Ye Chen glanced around. The bar was decent enough in size, but in Jianghuai City, this kind of place was not especially popular. There was no lively dance floor, no eye-catching erotic performances, and no tempting exchange of money and desire. Because of that, the place had always been rather quiet. He chuckled. “What would I even do here?”

“You wouldn’t need to do anything. Just keep me company and chat with me every day.” Sister Yan revealed a charming smile.

“In that case, if you put out a recruitment notice, I’m afraid every man in Jianghuai City would rush here all at once,” Ye Chen said with a laugh.

“Heehee... I don’t want anyone else. I only want you.” As she spoke, Sister Yan’s gaze fell on Ye Chen, and he suddenly felt like prey, while she was a hunter carrying a rifle, searching for her quarry. A chill ran through him. Hastily, he said, “Sister Yan, I... I’ve got something to do. I should go.”

“That urgent?” Sister Yan looked startled.

“Yes. I just remembered something.” Ye Chen rose at once.

“What about the business card I gave you the first time we met?” Sister Yan asked with a smile. “I heard from Xiao Ruo that you were planning to scrape off the gold dust and sell it for money. Is that true?”

“Huh? That was just a joke. The card—I still have it!” Ye Chen hurriedly dug the card out of his pocket, though by now it was wrinkled, and some of the gold dust had already rubbed off. Seeing it, Sister Yan frowned. “You little rascal. Is that any way to keep something of mine?”

“I... I...” Ye Chen was mortified. If he had known it would be like this, he might as well not have taken it out.

“Heehee...” Sister Yan suddenly laughed, took the card back from his hand, then replaced it with a brand-new one and handed it to him again. “Keep it safe. If anything comes up, you can come to me. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll definitely help you.”

“Okay, thank you, Sister Yan.” Ye Chen quickly put the card away, carefully slipping it into the inner pocket of his wallet. Only then did Sister Yan smile in satisfaction.

Ye Chen left in a hurry. Standing before Sister Yan, he had the distinct feeling that he was prey—and not just prey, but completely exposed prey, like a man whose modesty had been stripped away.

Sister Yan was a mysterious woman. A single bar, a single enchanting woman, a person nearly everyone in Jianghuai City addressed respectfully as Sister Yan. She most certainly possessed a background that would shock anyone. Ye Chen did not dare stand too long before this hazy, enigmatic figure, because she was simply too difficult to see through, too impossible to grasp. Beyond knowing that her name was Sister Yan and that she ran Nightfall Bar, he knew nothing at all.

Breathing heavily, Ye Chen emerged from Nightfall Bar and headed toward the university district. Ever since that incident with the urban management officers last time, there had been far fewer street vendors here. In the midday heat, a few sellers pushing handcarts and hawking watermelons called out listlessly.

Passing by Jianghuai University, Ye Chen suddenly remembered that he seemed not to have seen Momo for several days, and a quiet ache of longing stirred in his heart.