Bai Lu followed by her side, all the way until she arrived back at her place. Zhang Sha Sha stood there, and she slowly turned around to face Bai Lu. "I can't pay it back."
Bai Lu said, "You don't have to. Like what you have just said, that was your dad's inheritance." Compared to a coffin full of treasures, $100k was nothing at all.
"I hate it when people lie to me; you don't have to say any fake words." Zhang Sha Sha looked back at her residence. "Aside from this house, I have nothing left. Could I use it as collateral for the money that I owe to you?"
"No need."
"What do you mean by no need? Just because you are my dad's friend? But how old are you?"
Bai Lu pondered for a moment. "Your dad taught me many skills."
"Him? Humph! Skills? Aside from stealing, what else could it be? Was your money stolen from someone?" Her words carried a hint of disdain for his father and also for Bai Lu.
Bai Lu shook his head. "My dad is a cop. He would never allow me to commit a crime; you can be assured. So you can forget about paying back the money that you owe me." As he spoke, he fished out a stack of $8k and handed it over to her. "Take it."
"All my life, I have never believed that anyone would be so good to others for no hidden reason. Since you rejected the house, could it be that you are attracted to me? Fine, I will accompany you for half a year, to be the collateral for the $100k. How about that?" Her voice was calm. It seemed like she wasn't speaking about herself.
Seeing how Zhang Sha Sha refused to accept the money, Bai Lu shook his head. He just left the money behind, then he turned around and left.
After boarding the car, Gao Yuan asked, "Who is she?"
Bai Lu did not respond. He just took out the gold bar from his backpack. "Sell it. And also, thank you."
"Such a big gold bar? How heavy is it? More than 10kg?"
"Start the vehicle." He placed the gold bar beneath his feet.
Zhang Sha Sha suddenly ran over. "You mentioned that you had a restaurant in the city. Do you need any waiters? I could work and repay you."
Bai Lu frowned, he pushed open the door and got out. "You are not going to school?"
She bit her lips and shook her head stubbornly.
"Why are you not going to school?"
She did not reply.
"Does your mom not care about you?" Bai Lu looked at the courtyard behind her. He felt something was wrong, so he went around her and re-entered the courtyard. Then he walked into the house, and not long after he came out again. "Where's your mom?"
She bit her lips and remained silent.
Bai Lu said to Gao Yuan, "Wait a while for me." Then he turned around and walked towards Bao Zi's residence.
She chased over. "Where are you going?"
He stopped. "I agree to your request. Pack up your stuff. Remember to take your household registration booklet and your ID."
"Ok." Zhang Sha Sha was very decisive, and she ran back into the house.
Grabbing this opportunity, he arrived at Bao Zi's residence.
When she noticed his return, Bao Zi's mom was a little nervous. "Something's wrong?"
"Aunty, I would like to inquire about Zhang Sha Sha's predicament. Is it convenient for me to ask?"
"Why do you want to know?" She sighed. "That girl has a bitter fate. Even before she was born, her dad was imprisoned. And who doesn't know about this incident in the entire village? Soon after she was birthed, her mom abandoned her. Her grandmother raised her, but when she was six years old, her grandma had a critical illness, and she passed away; leaving her alone in this world. The government accepted her into the welfare agency, but she chose to stay here. So the village applied for the subsistence allowance on her behalf. It was $170 a month, barely enough for her to survive to this day. Under the 9-year system of compulsory education, she graduated from her secondary education, but that was the end of her studies because she couldn't afford to continue. In her entire life, she had never once worn new clothes. It can be said that she grew up on alms..."
Bao Zi's mom rambled endlessly for a long time. Bai Lu deeply bowed, then he left his name and contact number. "I am friends with her father, so you do not have to repay that money. I will bring her along with me to the city. If you are worried, you could visit her in the city anytime."
"That money was borrowed from you?" she asked.
He laughed and exited. He returned to Zhang Sha Sha's residence. By then she was already waiting by the car, and as soon as she saw him coming out, she asked, "Did you went there to ask for money?"
He laughed and shook his head. "Just went to inform them. If you leave so suddenly, wouldn't it be bad if they assumed that human traffickers kidnaped you?"
"You are right." She went to bid farewell to her neighbors, and also to inform them about her departure.
Gao Yuan asked, "Bringing her back? Where would she stay? Perhaps in that sh*tty little restaurant of yours?"
"Just sell the gold bar."
"Am I the one that owes you a favor?" Gao Yuan stared at him yet again.
"For this incident, I am in your debt," he said, with a severe tone.
10 minutes later, she returned. "I left your address and contact details with them. Is that alright?"
He giggled. "Get on."
Zhang Sha Sha brought very little luggage: Only lingerie and socks, and a towel. Also, she had a pen and a book. After she hopped on, she took out $10k and returned to Bai Lu. "Yesterday it was $2k, and $8k for today. Take it."
"Keep it to buy yourself some clothes."
"I don't want to." She bit her lips and placed the money on the seats.
When they arrive back at the restaurant, it was already 4 pm. There were two sports cars parked outside the restaurant, and also a few people were queuing up.
Bai Lu packed the money and gold into the backpack. When he got out of the car he was surprised, he thought, "The glass door had been replaced?" When he entered the restaurant, he saw He San Qing in his glaring full red attire, chatting randomly with the ladies in a flashy manner. Si Ma Zhi leaned against the wall and played with his phone.
Seeing that they have returned, Le Miao Miao stood up. "Brother Bai is back."
Bai Lu asked, "You changed the glass door?"
"I did." He San Qing walked over. "Was the issue settled? Do you need me to step in 1 ?"
Gao Yuan walked into the restaurant with a gloomy expression. "Are you playing a game of chess? Deploy the rook, why not use the bishop instead?"
Zhang Sha Sha followed behind timidly. After noticing the room filled with people, she went to the extreme corner and sat down.
"How much money?" Bai Lu asked He San Qing.
"It's peanuts. When I invite people over for a meal, try to refrain from throwing me out."
Bai Lu nodded. "Deal. I owe you a meal."
"Go screw yourself, you sly pig. After all that effort following you around over and over again for the entire afternoon. And also having to take a leave of absence! Skipped my work to help solve your problem, and earning just a single meal in return. All this guy did was to replace a single glass door, and he also received a meal? Are you kidding me?" Gao Yuan complained angrily.
Bai Lu thought about it, and he said, "You are right. It was indeed unfair."
"Say, how do you want to change it?" Gao Yuan said.
"Not changing."
Gao Yuan finally exploded, he sent over a flying kick. Bai Lu used his backpack as a shield— a dull sound echoed "Dong"— Gao Yuan hopped around while clasping his feet. After the pain in his leg had subsided, he snatched the backpack and stuffed it onto He San Qing. "Sell the items inside."
When He San Qing received it, he said, "Oh my god, why is it so heavy?" He almost dropped the bag because he wasn't paying attention. He opened the backpack, reached in to touch, then he looks suspiciously at Gao Yuan. "Young Master, you want me to sell this for money?" In his hands were the $10k cash that Bai Lu had received from Zhang Sha Sha.
Gao Yuan snatched it away. "That money belongs to me because he sold me a bowl of soup for $10k. That's for his extortion." He stuffed the money into his pocket. Then he confronted Bai Lu with a loud voice. "You still owe me $100k."
"What the hell. How befitting of Young Master Yuan, to lend $10k, with an interest of $100k. Even loan sharks have to concede defeat." He San Qing explained while clicking his tongue.
"Buzz off. Hurry up and sell the items for cash."
"You expect me to sell it now?" Even without retrieving the item out of the bag, he already expected what he would find inside.
"Of course."
"Right, I must have owed you debt in my previous life." He San Qing hugged the backpack and walked out of the door. Right before he left, he said, "Oh yes. You have to enlighten Young Master Zhi."
"What's wrong?" Gao Yuan asked Si Ma Zhi.
Si Ma Zhi was a little depressed. "I received a text message, saying that if I do not stop the affair with his wife, he will murder me."
"Just for this? Couldn't you leave his wife alone?"
"Damn it. That guy did not even leave behind his name. How would I even know which girl he is referring to?"
"Just how many women are you sleeping with?"
"Not that many. The biggest problem is that I don't even know which one of them were married!" Si Ma Zhi kept thinking about it, without any revelation.
Gao Yuan was speechless. "I think very highly of you because I feel that you have an outstanding potential to become a murder victim."
"I am not afraid of being murdered. It's the embarrassment. How can I lose my reputation? If I get my ass kicked for such a ridiculous reason, I will suffer from so much grievance."
They chattered away blindly, while Bai Lu wandered in and out of the restaurant. He was deeply contemplating on how to help Zhang Sha Sha settle down.
Someone knocked on the door. Zhang Sha Sha was the first to go up and open the door. "Can I help you?"
It was a baldy who came. "I am looking for your boss."
Bai Lu came out from the kitchen. He witnessed the scene, and he thought to himself, "The young girl did not suffer in vain. It had developed such a good judgment within her, to know that she should be helping out with work." He walked over to her, and he said, "Allow me." He then said to the baldy, "What brings you here again?"
The baldy was the same gangster that came a few days ago, who failed to collect the protection fees. It ended up in the loss of two of his minibusses that forced him to call the cops grudgingly.
"I came to redeem the vehicles. Here is the $25k." The baldy revealed a stack of money from a plastic bag.
"Vehicle?" Bai Lu looked around the road. "No wonder it constantly felt like I had forgotten something important. It turns out it was your vehicles. Just so you know, that night on the same day, they were already gone."
"What?" The baldy was a little surprised.
"Crudely speaking, if your subordinates had not driven the vehicles away, then they must have been stolen. By the way, how come you were released so quickly?"
"The vehicles were stolen?" The baldy gasped with his mouth wide open.
"Call the cops then. Since you do it so often, you should be familiar with the operations." Bai Lu shut the door and returned inside. He thought about it, and then he let out a long sigh. "Hmm, just lost $25k of revenue."
Gao Yuan retorted, "Extortion counts as revenue?"
He thought about it seriously. "Yes, it does." He paused and asked, "Who do you think would be so free, to steal two run-down minibusses."
The baldy outside the door felt very helpless. He did not dare to flare up his temper, but yet he was also not resigned to this injustice. He thought about it for a while, took out his phone and called the cops. For a gangster in the mafia to reach his level, it can indeed be considered a 'glorious achievement.'
After 10 minutes, the police arrived. They interrogated everyone around the restaurant. In the end, they retorted, "Go to the Traffic Management Agency to pay the fine!" It seemed like it was just an incident of illegal parking, so the vehicles were towed away.
Inside the restaurant, Gao Yuan was negotiating with Bai Lu. "Within the 3rd Ring Road, you pick the location, and I will put in the cash. Let's start a joint business venture to open a restaurant, 50-50 partners."
Si Ma Zhi joined in the discussion. "Count me in."
Bai Lu rejected. "Not interested."
"200 square meters. No, wait, at least 300 square meters for the area of the shopfront, with top-grade renovations. Let's steal the market share from all the restaurants within the city. With 30/70 profit sharing, you take 70%, and I will take 30%. There's only one small contingency. Whenever I wish to have a meal, you would have to make one for me."
"Not interested."
"What the hell. Are you crazy? A shopfront with an area of more than 150 square meters, you have to choose the location, and I will finance everything. You are still the owner, with a 30/70 share of profits..."
"Not interested."
"Getting arrogant aren't you? With an area of 150 square meters, do you have any idea how expensive such a shop would cost? It is equivalent for me to gift an investment of more than $10 million to you, and yet you are still not interested?"
"Not interested."
"Screw you old man. You better watch your back." Gao Yuan stood up in a rage, and he said to Le Miao Miao. "Let's go, to the karaoke."
"It's almost 6 pm." Le Miao Miao replied implicitly. She was trying to hint that they should not waste all the effort after waiting the entire afternoon patiently.
"Right, today I shall devour you savagely. Dude, which table position do I occupy this time?" Gao Yuan inquired from Bai Lu.
Bai Lu replied. "The first table."
"Could we buy the groceries back for you to cook?"
Bai Lu thought about it. "Yes, you can." After all, they were a great help today.
"This is more like it. Xiao Zhi, follow me to buy the groceries."
Si Ma Zhi complied, then the two of them left the restaurant.
The Chinese translation for "step in" can be interpreted as deploying the rook in chess.