Back in the day, when Liang Kun first dipped his toes into the adult film industry, Yan Liang naturally couldn't resist trying his hand as a leading man just to see what it was all about.
The results, however, were deeply disappointing.
Watching movies was one thing, but starring in them was a completely different world from what he had imagined. Not only did he find zero enjoyment in being the male lead, but the constant interruptions to yell "Cut!" poured endless buckets of cold water over his fiery enthusiasm. Even now, looking back on it, he could only remember it as tedious and utterly boring.
Still, he was more than happy to bring Xia He along for a firsthand observation.
Naturally, his twisted sense of humor was rewarded with an endless stream of curses and complaints from Liang Kun...
"You little punk... Who's the boss here, you or me?! I'm begging you, stop messing with me like this! A perfectly good leading man, and you blew his balls off right on set! Are you trying to drive me into bankruptcy with lawsuits?!"
Inside the office, Liang Kun vented his irritation. Glancing inadvertently at the sofa, where Xia He was sitting and nonchalantly trimming her nails, he recalled the bloody spectacle from the studio just moments ago. Even Liang Kun, the fierce boss of Mong Kok, couldn't help tightening his crotch instinctively.
A perfectly fine adult film had been brutally transformed into a bloody horror movie by this woman. Not only had she crippled a male actor, but she'd even scared the female lead into wetting herself on the spot...
Where on earth did this bastard find such a bunch of freaks? Why couldn't a single one of them give him peace of mind?
If Liang Kun had still harbored any lingering romantic fantasies about Xia He before, by now... he had completely banished her beauty to the farthest corners of his mind.
Don't even think about it! Beautiful women were great, but for the sake of his own precious little Kun, Liang Kun swore to himself that he would never be alone with this woman again.
"Come on, Boss... How was I supposed to know it would turn out like this?!"
Yan Liang looked thoroughly innocent, though he couldn't say much in his own defense since he was the one who had brought Xia He along.
"Alright, alright!"
Though Liang Kun had suffered heavy losses, he was even more terrified of displeasing the grand dame on the sofa.
Damn it! How did he, the boss, manage to lose more and more of his authority by the day?
Liang Kun looked at the two of them in his office and felt a headache coming on. One was his sworn brother, whom he couldn't hit; the other was someone he couldn't even touch. Deciding it was best to clear them out, he quickly racked his brain for an excuse to send them away.
"You look like you've got plenty of time on your hands. Since you managed to get that money back from Babi, I've got a job for you to run. Tony from the Vietnamese Gang—that asshole took my money and didn't deliver. Go get the cash back."
"Huh???"
Yan Liang blinked in surprise at this, and asked instinctively, "Boss, I'm supposed to be your strategist. Isn't this kind of job for Zhang Qiandan? Collecting debts is his specialty!"
"Don't mention that asshole to me. That underling of yours went to South Korea last week for a job and still isn't back. He won't answer his phone either—what the hell is he playing at?"
"Zhang Qiandan went to South Korea??"
Hearing this, Yan Liang was somewhat baffled. He seemed to recall telling Zhang Qiandan to stay away from South Korea whenever possible unless there was a specific reason. But the system hadn't given him any alerts yet, which meant Zhang Qiandan was probably still fine.
As for the Vietnamese Gang, it seemed he had no choice but to handle them himself.
The Tony brothers? As everyone knew, the three Tony brothers were the quintessential "take your money and ghost" type. Cheating buyers and shaking down sellers were just everyday business for them. And because the three brothers were notoriously ruthless, smaller buyers could only swallow their anger in silence.
Liang Kun was different. Every single batch of goods he imported or exported was worth tens of millions. The endless delays were driving him up the wall.
"Fine! I'll take a crew and sort this out later. But I still have to advise you, Boss—the handover is only a few years away, you really should wash your hands of this! I didn't stop you before because we needed the money. Now that we've got cash in hand, it's time to let go of certain businesses!"
"Damn it! You're starting with this again!"
If anyone else had said that, Liang Kun probably would have flown into a rage by now. But since it was Yan Liang speaking, Liang Kun could only grumble in frustration, even if he didn't want to hear it.
"If I don't deal powder, how am I supposed to feed a bunch of deadbeats like you lot? Shoot adult films? If I did that, I'd lose the shirt off my back! I'm not arguing with you!"
"Not arguing with me? I'm only advising you because you're my brother. Deal powder, and you're guaranteed a dead end, you jerk."
Yan Liang wore an expression of profound disappointment. If Liang Kun hadn't treated him with genuine sincerity, he wouldn't have bothered entertaining this mad dog at all. He pressed on: "Let me ask you this: what kind of level do you want to reach in the future?"
"What level?"
Liang Kun was stunned by the question. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Are you out of your mind? I'm asking how high you want to climb!"
"Nonsense, I want to be the triad boss, obviously! Do you even need to ask? Are you an idiot?"
A low-level gangster's ultimate aspiration was to become a triad boss. That wasn't just Liang Kun's dream; it was the dream of every single person mixed up in the underworld. And there was no denying that Liang Kun possessed the brains and the ruthlessness for it—otherwise, he wouldn't have reached his current position.
Yet, in Yan Liang's eyes, that ambition was still a bit too small. He cast a look of mild disdain at Liang Kun. Knowing full well what Hong Kong would be like after the 1997 handover, he naturally wasn't going to content himself with merely being a gang leader. Besides, those gang leaders wouldn't necessarily meet a good end in the future.
Seeing the strange look in Yan Liang's eyes, Liang Kun rubbed his face somewhat self-consciously. "Hang on... You little punk, what's with that look? You don't believe I can become the chairman of Hung Hing?"
"I believe you." Yan Liang rolled his eyes. "You'll definitely make it to chairman. But the moment you become chairman is also the end of the road for you."
"Well, obviously! Once I'm chairman, I've reached the peak. What do you want, me to become the Governor of Hong Kong?" Liang Kun snapped back irritably.
"Hmm, that's not a bad goal." Yan Liang nodded, then abruptly changed his tune to puncture Liang Kun's ego. "Though I doubt you've got a snowball's chance in hell of managing that in this lifetime. Setting everything else aside, just look at your slacker attitude—do you think you look anything like a Governor? Which Governor goes around cursing like a sailor and grabbing his crotch all the time?"
"You motherf..."
Liang Kun was cut to the quick by Yan Liang's mockery, especially right in front of the pretty girl Xia He. If he hadn't known he couldn't beat Yan Liang in a fight, he probably would have thrown punches long ago.
Yet, just as quickly, Yan Liang pivoted again. "Forget about being Governor. Becoming a legislator or something similar shouldn't be a problem, though."
"A legislator???"
Despite his simmering anger, Liang Kun was struck dumb by the statement. He felt like his brother was just messing with him, yet for some reason, a strange seed of temptation was planted in his heart. "Are you serious? I'm a triad member!"
Yan Liang curled his lip in contempt and shrugged. "So what if you are?"
"Look at the major families in Europe—tell me, which of them didn't start out in the Mafia?"
"In fact, plenty of people from those families are high-ranking officials in various European countries. Did anyone do anything to them?"
"This..."
Liang Kun stared wide-eyed, recalling everything he had seen and heard over the years. It actually seemed to be true. But another question quickly popped into his head.
"Isn't it supposed to be really difficult for ethnic Chinese to become legislators here in Hong Kong? After all, the people pulling the strings up top are all..."
"Use your brain for a second, Boss. Did I say you should run for office *right now*? I'm talking about *after* ninety-seven. Understand?"
Hearing the year "ninety-seven," a glimmer of light sparked in Liang Kun's disbelieving eyes.
The idea actually didn't sound entirely impossible!
"Quick, tell me how to work this. Once I'm a legislator, with me covering things from the official side, won't our powder business make us an absolute fortune?!"
I swear... I really want to slap you across the face!
Hearing Liang Kun's response, Yan Liang wished he could knock some sense into this thick-skulled idiot.