As the convoy came to a stop, Tang Long hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet when his men poured out and stood around the perimeter. There were even dedicated people to open the door for Tang Long.
Inside the hotel, there were also quite a few bodyguards, all glaring fiercely, their waists bulging—ready to draw their weapons at any moment.
Tang Long had both hands in his pockets, the lollipop still dangling from his mouth. His walk was exactly like Yu Xiaoduo’s, except with an extra dose of swagger. The smile on his face was the same too—though his right leg was noticeably limping.
Just as Tang Long was about to head upstairs, two burly men suddenly blocked his way, signaling for a pat-down. The atmosphere instantly froze.
“What are you doing?! Don’t you know the rules? Don’t mind them, Brother Long.” Heavy footsteps sounded on the staircase—just from the sound, you could tell it was someone at least two hundred pounds.
Sure enough, a pale, fat man came running down, wiping sweat. He looked to be at least three hundred pounds, wearing an apologetic smile: “Brother Long, Brother Long, my apologies. The new guy doesn’t know the rules.”
“Fatty, you looking for a beating or what?”
“Haha, getting beaten by Brother Long—that’s my honor as Fatty. Brother Long, please come upstairs. Watch your step.”
“Look at this silly face of yours. One look at a beautiful woman and you go all soft, huh?”
“Brother Long, I’ve never seen such a stunning beauty in my entire life. Half my soul’s been taken from me.” Fatty looked utterly infatuated—practically ready to become that beauty’s guard dog.
Tang Long clicked his tongue: “I’d like to see for myself whether she’s really as exaggerated as you say.”
In the center of the second floor was a large round table. Above it hung a wobbling electric fan, creaking and groaning as if it could fall at any moment. A woman was elegantly sipping tea. Hearing the footsteps on the stairs, she glanced over with her beautiful eyes, set down her teacup, and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles from her dress.
As the steps grew fewer, Tang Long suddenly laid eyes on the woman by the table—and his raised foot hit pause mid-air.
Tang Long considered himself someone who’d seen countless beauties in his life and had bedded quite a few too. But compared to this woman before him, those others didn’t even deserve mentioning. Next to her, they were like vulgar ugly ducklings.
Look at that flawless face—he’d seen enough women to know this was all natural. With that stunning beauty came an aura that made people gasp in admiration, plus that alluring figure that was undoubtedly pushing the limits of any man’s self-control.
Fatty saw that even Brother Long was standing there dumbstruck and instantly felt his own reaction was perfectly normal.
“Brother Long, mind your image—don’t lose face.” Fatty quickly reminded him.
Tang Long snapped back to his senses and felt quite embarrassed, but this kind of reaction was also a form of absolute respect toward the other party.
“Hahahahaha! I’ve long heard of the great Bai Ye’s reputation. Seeing you today truly leaves one in awe—and even more unexpected, the renowned Bai Ye is actually a woman. Impressive.” Tang Long cupped his hands in a martial salute, full of old-school jianghu flair—though the laughter was more or less covering up his earlier awkwardness.
Standing across from Tang Long was none other than Bai Ji.
“Brother Long, your reputation precedes you.” Bai Ji was also sizing up the man before her, feeling he seemed a bit frivolous—but he was the biggest boss around here, with an extremely wide network of connections.
Being called “Brother Long” by a woman like this made Tang Long feel a bit giddy: “Since we’re fellow townspeople, I’ll just call you Big Sister.”
The moment those words came out, the air seemed to pause for a beat.
“No problem at all.” Bai Ji smiled faintly and sat down gracefully.
Tang Long plopped himself down beside her carelessly, sipping tea with a smile as he asked: “Big Sister, are you running into some trouble?”
“Indeed, I’ve run into trouble. I have a cargo ship that’s been detained by the local customs. I heard Brother Long has connections that reach the heavens, so I came specifically to visit. A small token of my appreciation—please accept it, Brother Long.” After Bai Ji finished speaking, a man standing behind her brought over several black cases and placed them on the table.
Bang, bang, bang—one by one, the cases opened.
Inside weren’t stacks of green dollar bills, but gleaming gold bars.
“Big Sister, you’re way too polite. We’re fellow townspeople—aren’t you treating me like an outsider?” Tang Long said with a grin, thinking to himself that this must be no small matter.
Bai Ji smiled warmly: “Fellow townspeople or not, propriety still demands courtesy.”
Tang Long immediately gave a thumbs up: “Big Sister truly lives up to the name Bai Ye. For this kind of generosity alone, consider it done.”
Bai Ji was delighted: “Thank you, Brother Long. There will be generous thanks after it’s done.”
“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it. But Big Sister, what exactly did you buy that got detained?”
“Some rare metals.”
Hearing this, Tang Long’s smile faded a few degrees and he became serious, which made Bai Ji feel a hint of foreboding.
“Big Sister, the international situation is complicated these days. Even if you were shipping weapons, I could smooth things over for you—but special metals are no simple matter.”
“Brother Long, the country desperately needs this batch of metal materials. I must get them out.” Bai Ji’s eyes showed firm determination.
Tang Long stood up and paced around: “I remember when I was still young, I heard stories about Bai Ye—always doing big things, yet no one knew about it. That kind of noble spirit commands admiration. And now Bai Ye’s descendants are the same. All I can say about this matter is that I’ll do my best.”
Looking at Tang Long, Bai Ji let out a breath: “Thank you.”
“These gold bars are too heavy—I can’t carry them all by myself anyway. Forget it. I’ll have Fatty let you know when there’s news. Thank you for the tea, Bai Ye.” With that, Tang Long headed down the stairs, and Fatty hurriedly followed behind.
Bai Ji sat down helplessly, her gaze somewhat deep and thoughtful.
“Bai Ye, will Brother Long actually help?” one of the men behind her asked in a low voice.
Bai Ji shook her head: “We’ll think of another way.”
In the car, Tang Long pulled a lollipop from his pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth. He opened the window and let the wind brush across his face.
“Brother Long, are you really not going to help?”
“Fatty, we’re not twenty-year-old hotheads anymore, getting all fired up at the sight of a beautiful woman. Although I almost did get fired up just now… sigh, still too young.”
Fatty looked at him with contempt: “Brother Long, you’re not young anymore either. In a few more years you’ll be fifty, and you don’t even have a wife.”
“What do you know? My goddess hasn’t appeared yet. Maybe she’s still in elementary school.”
Fatty was completely speechless. Brother Long, you really have no shame.
After a while, Fatty asked again: “So you’re really not helping?”
“You’re a married man and you’re still thinking about her? This Bai Ye is no ordinary woman. Besides, we have our own work—no need to go risking our necks.”
Fatty wiped his sweat and chuckled: “Look at her—a woman, yet so righteous, more of a man than most men. Besides, helping her out means she’ll owe you a huge favor. That’s a pretty good deal.”
Tang Long suddenly looked at Fatty seriously: “Did you take her gold bars?”
“Of course not! Do I look like that kind of person?”
“Let me search you.”
“Brother Long, don’t mess around!”
“Hehehe, Fatty… hehehe.”
“Damn it!”
Fatty immediately started yelping—his fat was about to get pinched swollen. He yelled for Brother Long to hurry up and find a wife already, go pinch his own wife.
Meanwhile, Gu Wan’er, squatting in the corner, put down her phone and furrowed her brow. Never mind Yu Xiaoduo’s uncle for now—the real business was more important.
