Chapter 996: Not Someone Who Takes Advantage

Finishing a day's work, Rose and Minmin left together by taxi.

Counting Little Jiangxi, there was a difference in the time the three of them came to Shanghai and Huanghe Road. Rose came the earliest, Minmin and Little Jiangxi came together to seek refuge, but the three of them came from the same place. When renting a house, Rose helped, and the place where the three lived wasn't far, so usually, they went home together.

Today, missing Little Jiangxi, Rose and Minmin didn't return directly to their residence, but took a taxi to the vicinity of Fuxing Park, and got off in front of an old apartment building here.

Rose took out a piece of paper, checked the address label, and went upstairs with Minmin, knocking on the door of one of the households.

Before long, the old iron door made a sound, and Little Jiangxi, wearing a new set of pajamas, opened the door.

Little Jiangxi smiled happily and invited enthusiastically: "Come in, look at my new home."

Rose and Minmin didn't stand on ceremony, walked straight in, put down the things they were holding, looked around, and finally sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Minmin and Rose took the food packed from the restaurant, and Little Jiangxi also took the beer she had bought long ago.

While opening the beer, Little Jiangxi laughed: "How is it? Not bad, right?"

"The place is big, the location is good, and there is a separate bathroom for bathing, naturally not bad." Rose recognized it, and then went straight to the topic: "Heard from Minmin that Wang Laoban gave you 20,000?"

Little Jiangxi got up and went to get the big brother phone, placing it on the coffee table: "10,000 to buy a big brother phone, and also renting a house. 10,000 yuan is my activity expense, asking me to choose a location to open a hotel and write a plan for opening a hotel."

Minmin hesitated for a moment and asked: "Then Wang Laoban wants..."

"He didn't say, and I didn't see any bad eyes in his eyes; it was quite flat. But I am willing." Little Jiangxi's tone was very firm, speaking without hesitation.

"For people like us, wanting to earn money is too difficult. Everyone says money is easy to earn now, but no one says how to earn it. Wang Laoban is willing to give an opportunity, so I have to grab it hard. What can he plot against me? What do I have? No matter how you talk about it, I'm the one earning."

Rose continued: "Then your boy..."

"I don't have a boyfriend!" Little Jiangxi said decisively.

Minmin asked: "Broke up?"

"Don't want any influence."

Rose sighed, drank a mouthful of beer, and didn't say anything. Everyone has their own path to walk; Little Jiangxi is a person with ideas and won't listen to others' pointing fingers.

Minmin didn't know what to say for a while, pondered for half a day, and said: "People like Wang Laoban definitely have more than one woman, and he seems to have ideas about our proprietress. You've been on Huanghe Road for more than two years, and you should have seen quite a few of these things..."

Little Jiangxi shook her head: "I have indeed seen quite a few, but Minmin, have you heard of any boss giving 20,000 to a woman at once? And have you heard of any boss who dares to spend money for a woman to do business? Wang Laoban dares; he is different. As long as he lets me earn money and lets me succeed, what does it have to do with me how many women he has?"

Her words made Minmin and Rose silent. Giving up some, getting... more?

Seeing that they had nothing to say, Little Jiangxi laughed: "I don't have any thoughts myself, so don't worry about me. Wang Laoban is a big figure, and the business is big; hotels definitely won't be opened in just one place, big cities must have them. When the time comes, you two come to help me, and we'll do it together."

"Where would we know those things?"

"Who knows from birth? Learn slowly. I'm also confused now, and don't know how to do it at all. You two are both lead managers, much stronger than me."

"Then you hurry up and get rich, we also want to be nouveau riche." Rose laughed, very cooperative.

Little Jiangxi laughed, and asked: "Minmin, does Wang Laoban really have ideas about your proprietress?"

"I think so, otherwise Huanghe Road is so big, and I haven't seen Wang Laoban go to any other restaurant for the second time except Jin Meilin. But he has been to Zhi Zhen Yuan quite a few times, and every time he chats and laughs with our proprietress. Besides, our proprietress is so pretty, has ideas, has means, and is very attractive."

Minmin gave Li Li a high evaluation.

Little Jiangxi nodded in recognition: "Wang Laoban has so much money, and isn't married, Li Li is very pretty, has a lot of flavor, it's normal for him to take a fancy to Li Li. Men, after all, who doesn't like pretty ones? The ones that are too easy to get are instead not looked upon."

Rose shook her head: "You still know."

"But what do I have? I'm not Li Li, haven't seen much of the world, don't have other connections, and don't have much culture, only looking quite good. Following my boyfriend who is a chef is following, following Wang Laoban is also following, but if I hesitate for a second more, I feel I'm sorry for myself."

Minmin shook her head: "Alright, don't talk about this, talk about your hotel opening, what do you plan to do? Wang Laoban can't really let you, who knows nothing, do it, right?"

"He gave me his lawyer's phone number, and his assistant's phone number..."

The three sisters drank wine, ate the early-cooled dishes, and discussed the hotel matter one by one, all yearning...

The next day, Night Tokyo.

"The matter is like this, Wang Laoban. Truly, I thought I could earn a big sum, who would have thought that the clothes Boss Bao brought over were all high-imitation? It made me have to go door-to-door to collect clothes with money and accompany people with smiles. Oh my, it's so embarrassing."

Tao Tao nagged about the previous matter, drank a big mouthful of Moutai depressedly, grabbed a big crab leg and took a bite, and then continued to speak.

"If you ask me, anyway, people make high-imitation well, and they can't be burned by fire, and you can't see any problems. Now the whole street is full of Sanyang, who has the heart to distinguish them? Just wearing them is the same, right? Anyway, they are bought by following the trend; people wear what others wear, I sell it as real, he buys it as real, what's the difference?"

"Just like Wang Laoban's Hongyun, the whole street is full of people wearing Hongyun. Your clothes sell so expensive, how can they all be genuine? Nike has to plagiarize Hongyun's creativity, and there are a lot of high-imitations; who can catch them all?

Sanyang is far worse than Hongyun; it showed off recently, and soon there will be other high-imitations. Can Boss Bao manage them? Besides, Sanyang itself is imitating Montagut; can't others imitate Montagut?"

Before Wang Yan could speak, Lingzi counted Tao Tao.

"Sanyang has high-imitations as soon as it's listed, which will affect the sales of genuine products. How much can you earn yourself? How much will Boss Bao lose? If the clothes don't sell, he won't earn money, and if the contract isn't completed, he also has to pay liquidated damages to Boss Fan. I don't understand much either, what do you say, Wang Laoban?"

"When the market is relatively blank, it is easy to occupy the market, but when others have already occupied a certain market, wanting to grab market share from other brands is even harder. Montagut sells expensive, Sanyang sells cheap, so it grabbed the market. But high-imitation is cheaper, and it will grab Sanyang's market. At that time, who is genuine and who is high-imitation will be hard to say."

"Right, the market is the key." Lingzi nodded repeatedly. "Selling high-imitation is so unpromising; wait until Sanyang sells, we'll ask for a distribution right and sell genuine products directly. Sanyang is so popular now, it must be profitable."

Listening to the front, Wang Yan once thought Lingzi had improved, and only after hearing the back did he confirm that Lingzi was still that Lingzi.

"Where is Boss Bao? Haven't seen him for several days." Teacher Ge asked from the side.

"What else can he do, naturally he wants to solve the high-imitation problem." Lingzi waved her hand, looking indifferent.

Ling Hong said: "Oh my, people who make high-imitations are all making a living; as the saying goes, cutting off people's wealth is like killing their parents. Boss Bao is coming to the door like this, people will think he's looking for trouble; won't something happen?"

Lingzi shivered and turned to look at Wang Yan.

"Boss Bao isn't without people; there are still quite a few people on Little Ningbo's side. If he felt there was danger from the beginning, he would definitely come to find me. Nothing big, don't worry."

Wang Yan was also sucking crab legs, eating while speaking, not caring at all.

"Really nothing?" Lingzi asked uncertainly.

"Boss Bao is a thirty-five-year-old adult man, not a five-year-old child. How he does things, how he does it, doesn't he know himself?"

Ling Hong nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, exactly, Boss Bao must be fine; unless he's stupid, he must have preparations. Besides, people who make high-imitations also want to earn money, not desperate bandits; Boss Bao has so many ideas, there must be a solution."

Lingzi hummed and didn't continue to speak. The happy atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit cold for a while.

Tao Tao sighed again at this time and asked: "Wang Laoban, you know the news on Huanghe Road recently, right?"

"Haven't been there for several days, what news again?"

Seeing Lingzi and the others looking at him with strange expressions, Wang Yan seemed very surprised. "Does it have anything to do with me?"

"Of course it has to do with you; originally I didn't want to say it, but Tao Tao mentioned it again, so I have to say two words to you." Teacher Ge couldn't help but stare. "They all say men become bad when they have money; I didn't believe it before. I thought that must be because the man was bad originally, just didn't have money or capital.

Look at you, Little Northeast, how good a person you were when you first came to Shanghai. Always saying you couldn't earn money in your hometown, couldn't eat enough, couldn't find a wife. Now it's good, earned big money, eating delicacies every day, but not looking for a wife, changed to keeping a little girl.

The thing is done, it can barely be understood; you have so much money, don't know where to spend it. But you wouldn't do it secretly? As a result, you made it a big mess, known to everyone, oh my, truly lost a big face... you were low-key before, no movement. Now it's good, everyone knows you, Wang Laoban, are keeping a little girl..."

The old guy condemned Wang Yan, with a look of heartache.

Wang Yan suddenly realized: "Are you talking about Little Jiangxi?"

"Who else could it be?" Tao Tao laughed foolishly. "Wang Laoban has vision; I went to Jin Meilin to deliver seafood and saw her. Oh my, the little girl is exquisite. It's just a pity, your reputation is bad now, and Li Li of Zhi Zhen Yuan has no hope."

"Hey, hey, hey, make it clear what we are talking about." Ling Hong was dissatisfied and knocked on the table. "You too, you have Fang Mei at home, and you still want to make eyes with Little Xiao Xiao Asao here, unclear."

"Oh my, talking about Wang Laoban, why talk about me?" Tao Tao hurriedly sent the firepower to Wang Yan here.

Lingzi asked curiously: "Wang Laoban, did you really keep that Little Jiangxi?"

"Don't say it so ugly; I saw she has ambition, wants to succeed, gave her a chance, let her do things. If she succeeds, I earn money, if she doesn't, I won't lose much."

"Oh my, I also have ambition, I also want to succeed, why don't you give me a chance?" Lingzi was relentless, her tone sarcastic.

"No problem, warm the bed for me tonight, there are plenty of opportunities."

Lingzi gave a big roll of eyes and gave Wang Yan a punch unhappily.

Ling Hong said: "Look, what's not ugly, isn't that still keeping? No relatives, no reason, it's not good to just take money for people to do business, right?"

Wang Yan shook his head: "It's still clean and white now."

"Then what about later?" Ling Hong asked.

"Later? That's something that hasn't happened yet, how would I know." Wang Yan shook his head. "Alright, alright, nothing big."

"Are you really not afraid?" Teacher Ge looked surprised.

"Although it is indeed clean and white now, it may not be later. Since it's done, don't be afraid of people talking; what's the big deal? I don't believe that if I stand on Huanghe Road, who dares to come up and ask me these things to my face; even whispering would have to be eight hundred meters away from me. Relatively speaking, Tao Tao and Little Xiao Xiao Asao's matter is more interesting."

"Then I must hold your money in my hands, so you wouldn't dare to treat me unfairly." Lingzi was, after all, just a waitress; her thinking was still naive.

Seeing that he couldn't talk about Wang Yan, Tao Tao, who could talk, naturally suffered. After all, Tao Tao didn't have as much money or power as Wang Yan, but he wasn't honest, and made eyes with Little Xiao Xiao Asao. A group of people gathered to attack, scolding Tao Tao bloody.

Of course, the words were all about how Wang Laoban was, scolding him...

Wang Yan said that no one on Huanghe Road dared to ask him these things, which was clearly wrong.

After a few more days, he came to Huanghe Road again. Jingxiu first told him about the discussions on Huanghe Road, and when he arrived at Zhi Zhen Yuan, Li Li asked him to his face what his thoughts were.

"Do you know what Tao Tao said?"

Facing Li Li's look of watching the excitement, Wang Yan drank tea and laughed, "He said it's a pity, my reputation is bad now, and Li Li of Zhi Zhen Yuan has no hope."

Li Li smiled: "I admire your heart."

"Since it's done, don't be afraid of people talking. On the whole Huanghe Road, there are only two people who dare to ask me to my face."

"Jingxiu, right? You two are old friends. Your past on Huanghe Road has been dug up and talked about these past few days, and Jingxiu has been working very hard to clarify and excuse you. Now it seems his good intentions were wasted."

"Even if it's clarified, who will believe it? Since ancient times, these things between men and women have been talked about by people. Whether there is or not, there is. The information transmission speed in ancient times was not fast, but those rumors that caught the wind and shadows spread quite widely. The literati who stirred up the situation also needed entertainment. Just like you said before, vulgar. In this life, no one can escape these two words."

Wang Yan laughed. "What I'm curious about now is, does Li Li of Zhi Zhen Yuan still have hope?"

"No." Li Li smiled, looking straight at Wang Yan's deep, soul-capturing eyes.

"That means there is."

"Then what if I say there is?"

"That means there is a lot."

"You're really humorous."

"I'll take it as you praising me."

Li Li laughed out loud, and couldn't stop for a while. 【996

"Since I've done it, I'm not afraid of what people say. On the entire Huanghe Road, there are only two people who dare to ask me to my face."

"Jingxiu, right? You two have an old friendship. These past few days, your past on Huanghe Road has been dug up and talked about again, and Jingxiu has been very diligent in helping you refute the rumors and clear your name. Now it seems his kindness was wasted."

"Even if he clears my name, who would believe it? Since ancient times, these affairs between men and women have always been something people love to gossip about. Whether they exist or not, they are always there. The speed of information transmission in ancient times wasn't fast, but those groundless rumors spread quite widely. The scholar-officials who stirred up the world with their flowery language also needed entertainment. Just as you said before, it's vulgar. Living in this world, no one can escape these two words."

Wang Yan smiled, "What I'm curious about now is, does Li Li of the Zhi Zhen Yuan still have any expectations?"

"No." Li Li smiled, looking straight into Wang Yan's deep, soul-captivating eyes.

"That means there are."

"Then what if I say there are?"

"That means there are very many."

"You're really humorous."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Li Li burst into laughter, unable to stop for a moment.

Seeing Wang Yan's look as if she were a fool, she explained: "I was thinking, Miss Wang must be very angry right now."

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement: "Holding quite a grudge, aren't you?"

"Generally speaking, women are very petty, and it just so happens that I am."

The two were talking about how Miss Wang had twice met Li Li without giving her a pleasant look.

The way Li Li said this was still quite playful; didn't this mean her expectations were indeed very high?

Not dwelling on this, Wang Yan turned and asked: "You haven't been to Shanghai before, have you?"

"I've been here twice, but both times I only stayed for a few days."

"Now that you've come to Shanghai, you're busy doing business every day and going back very late. I imagine you don't have time to walk around outside and take a look. This isn't what life should be like. Let's go out for a walk."

Li Li smiled: "Are you trying to use me as a shield? To suppress the matter of Xiao Jiangxi?"

"You just have too much on your mind; you always think so complexly. I'm 'expecting' things from you here; what does that have to do with Xiao Jiangxi? I purely believe that you should walk around more, take a look, relax yourself, and broaden your horizons.

I can feel that you are hiding things in your heart. These things are always weighing on you. If this continues for a long time, you will only become more unable to let go and more stubborn. If you can't let go, you might claim to see through worldly affairs and retreat into a monastery. Otherwise, you might find a place to end it all yourself.

If I'm not mistaken, the matter in your heart is probably related to that Mr. A; perhaps you two had some beautiful past. The past is already the past. Thinking about it back and forth and letting yourself live in the past is meaningless."

"Where to?"

"The Huangpujiang, to blow in the breeze and watch the water. Then find a small shop with good food, eat and drink; it's quite nice."

Li Li was silent for a moment, then got up and went upstairs. Before long, she came down carrying her bag, gave some instructions to Manager Pan and Minmin, and smiled at Wang Yan: "Let's go."

Wang Yan finished his tea in one gulp, went out, and started the car.

It was afternoon, the sun was just right, and as the car drove on the road, the already warming breeze blew in, and the sunshine was very comfortable.

Li Li reached out her hand, feeling the shape of the wind. She asked: "Aren't we going to the Bund?"

"You must have seen the Bund, so what's the point of that? We're going to Baoshan. One side is the Yangtze River, and the other is the Huangpujiang; that's interesting."

"Your car really has a lot to offer; it's very comfortable to sit in."

The two chatted like this, and most of the time, Li Li was staring out the car window in a daze.

From Huanghe Road to Baoshan, it was only a little over twenty kilometers. Although the road wasn't that great, it wasn't bad either, and it didn't take long to arrive.

"We're here."

Wang Yan's voice brought Li Li back from her daze. She responded, then opened the car door, got out, and headed toward the riverbank.

Lighting a cigarette, Wang Yan got out of the car and followed. The two stood by the river, blowing in the breeze.

"How does it feel?"

"No feeling." Li Li shook her head.

"You have a feeling." Wang Yan smiled, "Your state was wrong once you got in the car, and now that you're here, there are memories in your eyes, mixed with some pain. I guess you witnessed it with your own eyes when Mr. A jumped into the river, right?"

Li Li looked at Wang Yan in surprise, as if asking, 'You can even see that?'

Wang Yan didn't need to see; after all, he knew everything. But he was lying with his eyes open: "To expect things from you, I have to look at you more."

Li Li didn't respond and turned her head back to watch the surging river water.

After a long while, she said: "I suppose I witnessed it. I had already gotten into the car to leave and saw it in the rearview mirror. He just jumped down so easily..."

As she spoke, tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, carried away by the river breeze.

"I don't think he was a man with courage. He only allowed himself to win, not to lose. He enjoyed the gains and chose death when he lost, disregarding the aftermath. You don't need to pay his debts."

Li Li shook her head: "I just want to give myself closure, to give the past closure."

"Can you really move past it?"

Li Li didn't speak again.

Wang Yan smiled: "It seems the riverbank isn't a good place. The confident proprietress from Huanghe Road wants to jump into the river once she gets here."

"Seeing the scene reminds me of the past; it's hard to avoid." Li Li shook her head with a bitter smile.

"You met me too late."

"I don't think so. Betty, Miss Wang, and now there's a Xiao Jiangxi..."

"Betty wants success, Xiao Jiangxi wants money, and Miss Wang wants pure love."

"And me? What do you think I want?" Li Li tilted her head. The setting sun shone on her profile, and the river breeze whipped her hair across her face.

"You want peace of mind and need something to rely on. The strength you show is all a disguise; in reality, your heart is very fragile." Wang Yan spoke the truth.

Li Li smiled noncommittally: "Perhaps... hmm? What are you doing?"

Wang Yan smiled and reached out to put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace: "In broad daylight, what could I possibly be doing? It's not that I want to take advantage of you; don't I even have this little bit of trust from you? It's just that in this situation, I need to let you feel what it's like to have something to rely on. Come, lean your head over a bit and savor it carefully."

Li Li was subconsciously resistant at first, but when Wang Yan's words came out, she couldn't help but laugh, and then she was no longer resistant, though her body was inevitably stiff. As Wang Yan pulled her into his embrace, she finally relaxed and leaned against his shoulder.

At this moment, she seemed to truly feel peace of mind...

The setting sun painted the sky and dyed the river water red. The sparkling, leaping waves danced with the red glow. The man and woman, blown by the river breeze, leaned against each other and stood by the shore...