He won 900 million in the lottery.

Once a person uses "what if" as a basis for mitigating risk, they've already entered the game.

After the foot bath, everyone went home.

Tonight's trap was completely ruined the moment I said this investment would lose money.

With nowhere else to go, I had no choice but to come to Spring and Autumn – I can't stay in a hotel every day.

The combination locks these days are so convenient. I don't need to knock; I can just enter the code and push the door open.

Chunqiu was startled; she had also drunk quite a bit of baijiu that evening.

"Who?"

"I."

"Boss."

"You go to sleep, I'm going to take a shower."

"Um."

Judging from his appearance, he's definitely had too much to drink.

I took a five-minute shower and just as I crawled into bed, snuggling against Chunqiu's warm body, I couldn't resist pinching her cheek. It was so soft and comfortable.

Just then, a WeChat message popped up from Liu Haitao.

Liu Haitao: "Are you asleep?"

I replied with a question mark: "?"

Liu Haitao: "Could you tell me about today's bid?"

Me: "You want to do it?"

Liu Haitao: "Okay. Where are you? I'll pick you up, let's go grab some food at the night market."

I sent my location directly: "Dingxin Apartment Building A".

Liu Haitao sent a wide-eyed emoji: "?"

He then added, "I'm at 1121, wanna come over? I'll order some takeout and buy some beer to sober up."

Good heavens, it's right across the street! This kid's really playing the long game.

I patted Chunqiu on the back: "Are you hungry? Let's go get some late-night snacks across the street."

Chunqiu was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, but as soon as he heard that they were going to the opposite side, he immediately perked up.

"Going to Sister Ting's?"

"Um."

Chunqiu has a particularly cute set of pajamas. She looks so well-behaved when she wears them, and I couldn't help but ruffle her hair.

No rush, the food won't arrive for a while anyway.

I casually asked, "How long until school starts?"

Spring and Autumn: "One more week."

Me: "I'll withdraw 1 yuan for you tomorrow. You can use it to pay your tuition and buy some study materials."

Chunqiu responded softly, "Mm."

When does a woman feel most approachable? Probably when she's wearing loose pajamas and chatting freely in front of you.

Ten minutes later.

Chunqiu asked me, "Boss, why aren't you willing to take things further with me?"

I looked at her and said, "Between men and women, physical intimacy isn't always necessary to build a relationship. Sometimes, emotional support is more important, like what we're doing now—platonic."

Spring and Autumn: "Hehe."

Me: "I'm not with you for the sake of temporary intimacy; this is called a spiritual bond."

"Yeah, I just feel like I can't live without you, boss."

This little girl, she was completely won over with just a few words.

My WeChat buzzed again. It was Liu Haitao: "Your takeout is here."

I pulled Chunqiu up: "Let's go."

As soon as I opened the door, I bumped into Liu Yiting changing into her nightgown. In that fleeting glimpse, I was struck by how incredibly fair her skin was.

The lace nightgown accentuated Liu Yiting's mature charm, as she has two more years of experience than Chunqiu, resulting in a completely different temperament.

"Sister Ting."

"Chunqiu, come sit over here."

I don't know where they brought a small table from, but they just happened to put it on the bed.

Liu Haitao ordered duck parts, barbecue, and also brought two cases of beer.

To be honest, Liu Haitao's married life is a different story – although his wife controls the finances, his personal freedom is truly enviable.

The family has a business, and the wife has a stable job. They may not have a lot of money, but they don't worry about small amounts.

As long as he doesn't make any fundamental mistakes, his wife doesn't really interfere with him.

My only words to him are: Envy! Envy! I'm so envious!

Liu Haitao handed over a skewer of grilled meat: "Here, try this place's duck products, the extra spicy kind, it's really satisfying."

After eating a few bites to fill his stomach, Liu Haitao finally got to the point.

"Tianyi, how's business going? Tell me the truth."

Me: "The other party provided too little information; it's impossible to make a judgment."

Liu Haitao frowned: "This is still not enough? The tender documents are all laid out in front of us, with costs, profits, and payment cycles clearly stated. If we can really make over 60 yuan over a three-year period, with annual payments, I think it's feasible."

Liu Haitao's family runs a wholesale business. The process is simply placing an order, making payment, and shipping the goods, with the addition of a payment period and a collection process.

But he had never dealt with the government before and didn't understand the ins and outs of the matter.

Me: "Doing business with the government is tough; you need connections to back you up if you want to do it."

Liu Haitao: "Connections? Don't Zhang Xingxing and Yuanyuan count?"

I shook my head: "When dealing with the government, you need someone who can guarantee payment. This person can be someone within the system or a reliable middleman, but they must be able to handle things and take responsibility. Zhang Xingxing and his colleague don't qualify yet; in fact, they're just like us—outsiders."

Liu Haitao frowned even more deeply: "So, this isn't even a done deal yet, and Zhang Xingxing is already using this to instigate us?"

Me: "He may have already sorted out those key aspects, but just didn't explain them to us clearly. For example, the intermediary who guarantees the winning bid, the costs involved, the guarantee of payment, and any unexpected risks. These are all core issues that we need to understand."

Liu Haitao is quick-witted in business and understands things immediately.

He pressed further, "What if he's already taken care of everything you mentioned?"

Hearing his words, I knew he was probably already tempted and wanted to join in.

Once people start using "what ifs" to ignore risks, they've basically already fallen into a trap.

Me: "The objective fact is that the other party only provided a tender document and didn't offer any other key information. And the biggest risk is the three-year payment cycle. What if they can't get the payment by then? That's the key point they need to use to convince us."

Liu Haitao muttered to himself, "Now that you mention it, it feels like Zhang Xingxing is setting us up."

Seeing his bewildered look, I had no choice but to patiently explain, "Zhang Xingxing probably doesn't know much either, just like us. This project is most likely being handled by Yuanyuan, or at least she's involved, and there's probably someone else behind it. Either Zhang Xingxing wants to make money off Yuanyuan, or Yuanyuan wants to get a share of the profits with him."

Thinking back to how Zhang Xingxing kept putting food on Yuanyuan's plate during dinner tonight, I added, "Maybe Zhang Xingxing will end up being tricked by Yuanyuan in the end."

Liu Haitao: "So you mean this whole thing is a scam?"

Me: "Whether it's a scam or not depends on whether they contact us tomorrow."

Liu Haitao: "You said today that this business isn't profitable, so why are they still contacting us?"

I picked up a duck wing and took a bite, wincing from the spiciness. "The data they gave me today shows it's not profitable. We can just add some new data tomorrow and calculate the numbers to make it profitable, right?"

Liu Haitao looked completely bewildered.

I continued to offer my advice: "Think about it, there are plenty of profitable projects out there, why should it be our turn? Just because I bought a phone that cost 18,000 yuan?"

Normally, it's people who look for projects.

Projects only look for people when things are not going well.

Liu Haitao was still in shock: "What if he really contacts us tomorrow?"

This kid's really fallen for it, still agonizing over "what ifs." To be honest, I sincerely hope they don't come looking for me again.

Me: "If they really contact me, we have to make them lay their cards on the table—Yuanyuan must have primary access to this project. If she can't, then this is just muddy water, and we'd better not get involved."