Though the price was falling into another whirlpool, Tian Yangyi seemed much easier to talk to than Lian Ho-tung.
Finally, he laid out the conditions under which he would support her rise to power. From Lian Ho-tung, she would get nothing; there would only be endless demands and the betrayal of intelligence.
"It seems the madam has thought it through!" Tian Yangyi said with a chuckle. "Rest assured, madam. For the time being, we truly cannot wipe out Chung Sing Yee, but it won't be long. The moment we officially kill Lian Ho-tung is the moment you join us. When you reach the top, just make sure you don't forget how you got there..."
Lui Mei-chun stared fixedly at Tian Yangyi, her mind racing. Should she agree? Should she refuse? Did she even have a choice? If she took the gamble, a miracle might happen. If she didn't, she might never be free of Lian Ho-tung for the rest of her life. She would only be waiting for her inevitable prison sentence. Even if Chung Sing Yee were destroyed by the police, she might still be implicated. But if the gang were destroyed by another organization, she would likely be spared, her past secrets buried forever.
"Madam already had the nerve to cross the sea to take a gamble, so why not be decisive and bet on this turning point in your life?" Tian Yangyi narrowed his eyes, adding a meaningful note.
Lui Mei-chun trembled. She took a deep breath and asked, "What do I need to do during this time?"
This was, without a doubt, an agreement.
Tian Yangyi laughed. "I will notify you if there is a need. Here is a new SIM card—it’s anonymous. Use this card if you need to find me." He pulled a card from his pocket and tossed it to her.
Lui Mei-chun caught it and gripped it tightly, as if she were holding the throat of fate itself.
"Madam, I wish you a smooth ascent to power and success in your career," Tian Yangyi said cheerfully before turning toward the door. Just before leaving, he added, "Actually, killing Lian Ho-tung isn't difficult. The hard part is silencing everyone who knows the truth, so we need a detailed plan. You’d better figure out who, besides him, knows your secrets."
With that, Tian Yangyi opened the door and vanished into the darkness. The soft click of the door closing caused Lui Mei-chun’s heart to race. After sitting in silence for a long time, a look of resolve finally appeared in her eyes.
"Whoa? Did three fairies just descend from the heavens?"
When Luo Yuchen returned home, he saw Yuen Mui, So Ah-sai, and Tian Yang'en all wearing matching chiffon tops. They looked stunning, and he couldn't help but tease them. Yuen Mui had called him to ask him to return, saying she had something to discuss. Since the business was handled and there were no irregularities at Jinbi Bar, he had slipped away to come back. He was genuinely surprised by the sight. He’d sent them out to do market research, and they’d come back transformed? Still, they looked beautiful.
"Smart-aleck!" Yuen Mui chided, though her smile grew even brighter. So Ah-sai’s eyes danced with delight as she exchanged a knowing, affectionate look with him. Tian Yang'en, flattered by the praise, felt a glow of happiness in her heart.
"Is this the result of your work today?" Luo Yuchen pointed to the pile of new clothes on the sofa.
"This was just incidental, okay?" So Ah-sai rolled her eyes.
Yuen Mui laughed. "Don't think we just went shopping. We actually made a huge gain tonight!"
"Oh? Tell me about it." Seeing the sofa piled high with clothes, Luo Yuchen pulled over a chair and sat down.
Yuen Mui explained, "It’s all thanks to Ah-sai. She found a suitable wholesaler to take our goods. We checked, and she has a steady stream of clients; she should have no trouble moving our stock. Plus, she’s a decent person."
"Well, look at Ah-sai showing off her talent! Never judge a book by its cover!" Luo Yuchen teased, smiling at her.
So Ah-sai widened her eyes, feigning anger. "D-don't I have any talent at all? I'll kill you!"
"Hahaha..." Tian Yang'en and Yuen Mui couldn't help but laugh, and Luo Yuchen laughed so hard he nearly fell off his chair. When So Ah-sai was being cute, no one else stood a chance.
"By the way, how are things going with the bell-bottoms?" Yuen Mui asked once the laughter died down.
Luo Yuchen replied, "A Zha and the others have found 19 small factories and are working at full capacity. We'll have the required amount in less than five days. The massive promotional campaign also started tonight."
"Oh, good. And what do you think of the person we found?" Yuen Mui asked.
Luo Yuchen shrugged. "If you all think she’s good, she must be. Fine, let’s go with her—exclusive agency! Originally, I wanted to handle sales ourselves, but that’s a bit more trouble. Since you found someone, we’ll give her a wholesale price. We'll lower the profit margin and just go for high volume to save ourselves the headache. Let her handle the wholesale distribution." He paused and asked, "Have you reached a deal with her?"
Yuen Mui shook her head. "Not yet. We need your approval."
"Then find a time to talk to her. If she’s willing, we’ll choose her as the exclusive agent. If she’s not, or if she doesn't have the capacity to handle our stock, we’ll just sell them ourselves. We don't need a middleman. Actually, once the bell-bottoms are hyped up enough, we won't even need to look for wholesalers; they’ll come crawling to us. We can just name our price then and not lose a penny."
Yuen Mui thought about it and agreed. "Then we won't go find that shopkeeper yet..."
Luo Yuchen shook his head. "Having a fixed wholesaler has its benefits; at least we won't have to worry about the extra work. You guys go talk to her first and see how it goes."
"You're the god, you're the devil—you say everything!" So Ah-sai pouted.
"It's just preparing for all possibilities," Luo Yuchen said with a smile.
"Fine, then that's decided," Yuen Mui agreed. Tian Yang'en and So Ah-sai had no objections.
Time flew, and five days passed in a blink. In those few days, quite a bit had happened. Sham Shui Po remained under martial law. Chung Sing Yee’s A-Wu had failed to find Tian Yangsheng and Lok Tin-hung, but he had found Tian Yangzhi and the others, who had all contributed 500,000 each. The Dragon Gate’s funds were suddenly much more robust.
The bond between Yuen Mui, So Ah-sai, and Tian Yang'en grew stronger, like that of sisters; they were practically inseparable. Yuen Mui perhaps sensed something, and her expression would sometimes turn curious, but there was no sign of jealousy or resentment. Luo Yuchen roughly understood her thoughts and was happy to let it be. The day everything settled, even if Yuen Mui wanted to back out, she wouldn't be able to. Habits take hold easily.
In the early morning of that day, Luo Yuchen returned alone to Yau Ma Tei and went to the room he had specifically rented. After checking that no one had been inside, he unlocked the door, went in, and retrieved the two bags of drugs. Today was the seventh day—the deadline to have this batch of drugs in hand.
Finally, he could exchange them for the Advanced Enhancer to stabilize Yuen Mui’s heart and her congenital heart condition. As long as this worry persisted, he would always be anxious about her collapsing again. Once he exchanged for the Advanced Enhancer, her heart would be stable for at least three years, and her condition wouldn't flare up during that time. Only then could he breathe a little easier. The rest would be working his tail off to earn enough—five billion—to exchange for the miracle medicine that would cure her congenital heart disease once and for all.
【Do you wish to exchange 30 million for one bottle of Advanced Enhancer?】
"Yes!" Luo Yuchen commanded decisively.
Instantly, the two bags of drugs in front of him vanished, reclaimed by the system. In their place, a small, pale blue bottle appeared in his hand. The bottle felt like glass but wasn't; the material was unknown, and it was about the size of a standard laboratory reagent vial—very convenient to carry.
Luo Yuchen nodded with satisfaction. Looking at the empty space where the bags had been, he smiled slightly, walked out of the room, and locked the door behind him.
When he drove back home, it was already dawn. It was just past six, and So Ah-sai and Tian Yang'en weren't awake yet. Yuen Mui, however, was already stirring; she was used to waking up early and rarely slept in. As for So Ah-sai, she had been exhausted, so sleeping in was understandable.
Luo Yuchen took the pale blue Advanced Enhancer from his pocket. He couldn't wait for Yuen Mui to wake up on her own, so he went upstairs and knocked on her door. *Thump, thump, thump.*
"Who is it..." Yuen Mui’s voice, melodious yet drowsy, sounded from inside.
"Mui'er, get up. I have huge, wonderful news to tell you," Luo Yuchen said, looking at the vial in his hand with a faint smile.
"Hmm? What huge news?" Yuen Mui asked, puzzled, but she quickly opened the door. Tian Yang'en appeared at the door as well. So Ah-sai, apparently woken by the knocking, opened her door, glared at Luo Yuchen in annoyance, and rolled her eyes.
"Go wash up and come out. I have something important to announce," Luo Yuchen said with a laugh, then turned and sat down on the sofa in the living room. When they had opened the door, he had already tucked the Enhancer back into his pocket, so they hadn't noticed anything unusual.
"So mysterious... what could be so important..." Yuen Mui yawned, shaking her head to wake herself up before heading to wash. So Ah-sai and Tian Yang'en were equally confused, but since they were awake, they decided not to go back to sleep and went to wash up as well.
Soon, they emerged into the living room, faces fresh and makeup-free.
"Luo Yuchen, looking at you, it seems like there really is some good news, but I haven't seen you do anything today. Let's hear it..."