My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

He's desperately craving money right now. Those three thousand ICs are like a mountain, suffocating him. A hole of 285,000 yuan—when will he ever be able to pay it off with his salary?

He thought for a moment and asked, "How much does it cost to drive one of these?"

Bao Yazhong waved his hand with a smile, looking very generous: "No money needed! You take care of smoothing things over. If anyone causes trouble, you handle it for me. The rest is just waiting for us to split the profits."

Su Ming shook his head, his attitude serious: "Let's invest together and then split it equally. I'll try my best to smooth things over with the relationships. Tell me how much you want to invest so I can be prepared."

He didn't want to owe anyone anything.

In truth, he had no confidence whatsoever. Although his cousin's wife's husband was very powerful, he couldn't guarantee that he would be protected if something really happened.

However, if someone causes trouble, you can call Pegasus to take advantage of the situation and act like a bully.

We can't worry about that now. Let's get it started first.

Bao Yazhong exhaled a smoke ring, thought seriously for a moment, and said, "It doesn't cost much. Each machine costs around two thousand, so we can get two slot machines and then five or six arcade machines as a cover. We can rent a shop for eight or nine hundred yuan a month, and that's about twenty thousand to get started."

Around 20,000?

Su Ming was tempted.

He's now latched onto Lin Shumei's coattails, so getting another 10,000 yuan shouldn't be too difficult. If all else fails, he can borrow it from her! Adding the 2,000 yuan Wu Yumin "gifted" him before, plus his own salary, he should be able to scrape together 20,000 yuan.

He nodded and said decisively, "Okay. Give me a few days to raise the money."

Bao Yazhong laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "No rush. I need to find out about the territory first. It has to be a territory that hasn't been occupied by other big shots. Otherwise, conflicts are inevitable, and fighting will definitely happen over territory."

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news!" Su Ming nodded, picked up his wine glass, and clinked it with Bao Yazhong's.

The two drank it all in one gulp.

Inside the private room, the music was still playing, and the colorful lights were still turning. The two young women started playing drinking games again, their laughter echoing through the room.

Su Ming leaned back on the sofa, looking at the scene before him, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Arcades, slot machines, tens of thousands a month...

This city is indeed paved with gold.

But how much of this gold can be legally collected?

he does not know.

But he knew he had no way out.

The 285,000 yuan hole forced him to move forward.

No matter if there are mountains of knives or seas of fire ahead.

The night was deep, and the neon lights were flashing.

The door to the private room was tightly closed, shutting out the outside world.

Inside, there was only alcohol, only cigarettes, only laughter, and a restless heart. Make money, make lots of money!

Su Ming rested on the sofa for a while, then Bao Yazhong brought over more wine and urged him to drink again. He had no choice but to drink with him, and they didn't leave until 2 a.m.

When Su Ming came out of the KTV, he was completely out of his mind.

He didn't know how much he had drunk. That bastard Bao Yazhong was too good at persuading people to drink, one cup after another, with lines like "Deep feelings, bottoms up," "If you're a brother, drink it all," "Not drinking means you're disrespecting me"... one after another, like a stand-up comedy routine. Those two young women also joined in the commotion, one minute saying "Brother Ming has a good capacity for alcohol," the next minute "Brother Ming, have another cup," making Su Ming feel completely embarrassed.

In the end, he felt dizzy and saw double images of Bao Yazhong. One person became two, two became four, and the whole room was filled with Bao Yazhong smiling at him.

He forgot how he got into the taxi and what address he gave.

All I remember is the driver constantly nagging, "Young man, don't you dare throw up in my car, or I'll have to pay extra..."

Su Ming leaned against the car window and mumbled a few "hmm"s, not really knowing what he was replying to.

The car stopped in front of the apartment building. The driver glanced back, and seeing that he didn't move, he gave him a nudge: "We're here, we're here, get out!"

Su Ming then opened his eyes, fumbled for the money and handed it over without even checking how much it was, then pushed open the car door and fell out.

Fortunately, he still had a little bit of consciousness left. He staggered a couple of steps and grabbed a tree by the roadside for support.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the chill of early autumn. He stood under the tree, looking up at the familiar building. He counted—seven floors. Yes, it was this building.

He started walking inside.

He didn't know how to use the elevator; he hadn't even thought about it. So he climbed the stairs, floor by floor. He'd climb two steps, rest for a while, then climb two more steps, and rest again.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway turned on and off one by one, as if keeping time for him.

By the time he reached the seventh floor, he was exhausted and covered in sweat, leaning against the wall and panting for a long time.

Then he took out his keys and started to open the door.

He inserted the key, turned it, but it didn't open. He turned it again, still no luck. He looked down and realized he'd inserted the key into the wrong door—he was trying to open the door next door.

He cursed, pulled out the key, staggered a couple of steps, and found his own door.

This time it's right.

He tried turning the key in the lock for a long time, but it wouldn't turn. His hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't even hold the key properly, and it fell to the ground with a "thud".

He bent down to pick it up, picked it up, and then dropped it again.

Pick it up again, then drop it again.

The "whoosh" sound was particularly clear in the quiet stairwell.

Just then, the door suddenly opened.

Qiu Tong stood in the doorway, wearing a silk slip dress, her hair still wet, clearly having just showered. She frowned suspiciously at Su Ming, who was squatting on the floor picking up the keys.

"Su Ming? What's wrong with you?"

Su Ming looked up, saw it was her, and a silly smile appeared on his face. He opened his mouth and, with a heavy, drunken voice, called out, "Sister-in-law, you're not asleep either?"

As he spoke, he stood up and tried to walk into the house.

But it felt like I was walking on cotton. As soon as I took a step, I swayed to the side and looked like I was about to fall.

"Hey!" Qiu Tong was startled and quickly reached out to support him.

Su Ming was helped up by her and leaned against her. He smelled the pleasant scent of her shower gel mixed with her warm breath, and a feeling of inexplicable warmth welled up in his heart.

He looked up at her with hazy, drunken eyes, and said with a silly grin, "Sister-in-law, you're so kind."

Then, he suddenly reached out and hugged her tightly.

Qiu Tong froze.

His hands were clasped tightly, with the stubbornness and heat unique to a drunkard. She could feel his face buried in her shoulder, his hot breath on her neck, and the strong smell of alcohol on him.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her mind went blank.

This brat, why is he hugging me...?

She remembered how earnestly he applied ice to her skin that day, how he stood in front of that group of thugs to shield her, and the look of admiration and shyness in his eyes when he looked at her…

And just now, his words "Sister-in-law, you're so kind," and this sudden hug.

What is this kid thinking?

But reason returned quickly.

She took a deep breath, reached out to pry his arm away, and softened her voice, almost like coaxing a child: "Okay, okay, stop fooling around. Go to sleep."

Su Ming held her tightly, reeking of alcohol, and mumbled, "I won't sleep... I want to hold you a little longer..."