Chapter 18: Toppling Wang Li

"When the time comes, as long as we take Nanjie, I can let you replace Zhang Longtao's position. What do you think?"

Seeing that I didn't speak, Huang Laohu continued to say to me.

"That won't be necessary. I know my own worth. If I can handle that position when the time comes, I certainly won't let Brother Huang down. But if I don't have the ability then, putting me up there would be useless. I know at least that much. Besides, it's still too early for Brother Huang to talk about this." My heart was pounding; I didn't have that much confidence. After all, this kind of thing was truly too far off for me. I hadn't even managed to make it in the underworld these past few years, and now I wanted to take down Zhang Longtao? The difficulty was not just ordinary.

"It's fine, I believe in you. You're quite good; you weren't blinded by profit. You're rational, smart, and have courage. I can arrange the school matter for you first; after all, that's not a difficult task," Huang Laohu said, looking at me with an approving gaze.

"That's not necessary for now. I haven't helped you with anything yet, so how can I let Brother Huang help me first? If I can help Brother Huang with something later, it won't be too late to ask for your help. There's no rush anyway," I said respectfully to Huang Laohu.

Huang Laohu nodded and didn't insist. He picked up his wine glass: "Alright then, here's to our success!"

After saying that, I quickly picked up my glass, clinked it with Huang Laohu's, and downed it in one gulp.

Huang Laohu laughed, walked over, patted my shoulder, and said, "Little Brother Yang Yun, how about this: first see if you can replace Wang Li's position. If you can, then we'll plan our next steps!"

I nodded, understanding that Huang Laohu was testing me to see my ability. Because Wang Li and I could only exist as one; after all, for an inside job, having more people wasn't useful. You only need one trusted person to gain Zhang Longtao's trust. If I won, Wang Li would naturally be useless. If Wang Li won, Huang Laohu wouldn't lose anything, as he hadn't invested anything in me anyway.

"By the way, Brother Huang, there's one thing I want to ask. Was it Wang Li's idea for you to come to Lihuang that day?" But as soon as I asked this, I cursed myself for being an idiot and quickly corrected myself: "Sorry, Brother Huang, I was being stupid. How could Wang Li order you around!"

"You're right, Wang Li can't order me around. However, that day's incident did have something to do with Wang Li. Originally, he was looking for Flower Boy—that is, the bald man who brought you here. But I found out about it, and since I happened to be free, I wanted to see what kind of tricks Wang Li was playing, so I went. Now it seems he wanted to test your bottom line, but obviously, he didn't find it, so he dared to take action against you later!"

Hearing Huang Laohu's explanation, I finally understood the situation at the time. No wonder Wang Li seemed to be wary of something back then. After Huang Laohu arrived, this guy started his revenge against me.

I thanked Huang Laohu a few times and then left.

After exiting the bar, just as I was preparing to head back, a figure suddenly blocked my path. It was the bald man. Seeing him, I frowned slightly: "What? Are you here for revenge?"

"Brother Yun, you're killing me here! How would I dare!" the bald man said, his face pale as he hurriedly explained.

"Then what are you here for?" I looked at the bald man, very confused, not knowing what he wanted.

"Brother Yun, I'm here to join you!" the bald man said, looking at me with full expectation.

"Join me? This joke isn't funny," I frowned, feeling like this guy was just teasing me.

"Brother Yun, I'm telling the truth. You know Sister Ling and Brother Huang; following you is definitely the right move. Besides, I've already broken the rules at Black Skin Bar, and they won't tolerate me anymore. Following Brother Yun is the right way to go!"

I looked at the bald man's expression; he didn't seem to be lying. However, I wasn't sure if this guy was arranged by Huang Laohu to be by my side. But thinking about it, having a helper is always good; at least one more person means more strength.

"Are you sure about following me? I'm not like Brother Huang or Zhang Longtao right now; I'm not even as good as a small fry!"

"I'm sure. Following you is definitely the right move, Brother Yun. You saved my hand, so just consider this me repaying the debt!"

I nodded. Originally wanting to go back, I stayed a while longer to chat with the bald man. Only then did I learn that the bald man was called Wang Hua, and everyone called him Flower Boy. He worked at Black Skin Bar, but now he was no longer considered part of it. After chatting for a while, I headed back.

After returning, I thought for a moment and sent a text message to Su Xueyan, telling her I wasn't leaving and would still be at Lihuang KTV for now.

Nothing happened for a few days. I went to work at the KTV as usual. I planned to arrange for Wang Hua to work at the KTV, so I told Sister Ling about it. Sister Ling agreed without a second thought. However, Wang Li was clearly shocked by Wang Hua's arrival. When he first arrived, he and Wang Hua were talking about something, but naturally, they were doing it behind our backs.

Wang Hua told me later that he just asked him what he was doing there, and Wang Hua simply brushed it off. As for whether what Wang Hua told me was true or false, only Wang Hua knew.

One day, Su Xueyan asked me out to play. We both happened to have time, and since there was nothing going on, I agreed. This could be considered my first official date with Su Xueyan.

Su Xueyan and I walked around the streets, but we didn't buy a single thing. Mainly, I hadn't received my salary yet, and Su Xueyan was very frugal.

However, just as we were happily walking along the roadside, a black shadow suddenly flashed past us. I didn't pay much attention at first, but when I looked over, I saw the other person holding a bag and running away quickly. I looked down at Su Xueyan and then shouted: "Damn, a bag snatcher!"

Su Xueyan also reacted, and we both shouted: "Catch the thief! Don't run!"

But no one stepped up to help. The guy's speed was extremely fast; one look and you could tell it wasn't his first time. I charged over like a madman and grabbed the person's shoulder. However, when I saw his face, I froze, and the other person also froze, shouting excitedly: "Old Four!"

"Old Three, long time no see!" I hugged him, my expression complex, my body trembling.

The bag snatcher was my brother from the orphanage when I was young. Back then, the seven of us swore an oath of brotherhood like the Three Heroes of the Peach Garden. I was ranked fourth, and the person in front of me was called Xu Hongzhi, ranked third.

"You stinking thief, stinking thief!" Su Xueyan snatched the bag back and slapped Xu Hongzhi on the head repeatedly.

However, seeing us at this moment, she was clearly stunned and looked at me strangely: "Yang Yun, do you actually like gay stuff?" ===== CHAPTER 19 =====