A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I stiffened slightly and instinctively reached out to cover Liu Haomei's chin: "Haomei, let's... just be friends. I have Chunyan now."

Liu Haomei also reached out and wrapped her arms around my waist, pressing softly against my chest, and whispered, "I talked to Chunyan, and Chunyan... agreed. She won't blame you."

Holy crap, this is like going back to the feudal era! Chunyan is going to arrange a concubine for me?

I couldn't believe it: "Don't talk nonsense, that's impossible."

"Why is it impossible?" Liu Haomei's eyes burned even brighter as she whispered:

"I used to work at a glass factory. Three young women and a married woman fell in love with the same young man. In the end, they rented a place together. The young man stopped working; he just bought groceries and cooked, and the women... worked to support him."

Damn, why are all the stories Liu Haomei tells so shocking and mind-blowing that they leave me speechless?

In the moment I was in a daze, Liu Haomei suddenly pounced on me and pushed me down onto the edge of the field.

"Sister, no..."

I opened my mouth, but I never had the chance to speak again.

Liu Haomei blocked my mouth, completely blocking it.

She even took my hand and led me on a tour.

"This won't do, this won't do..."

I screamed in my heart, but my head was spinning, and I was being led deeper and deeper by Liu Haomei.

My wound was painful, and I couldn't move around too much, but I couldn't escape Liu Haomei's enthusiasm.

With great effort, I finally managed to push Liu Haomei away.

"Okay, sis, you should go to work." I took out my phone and checked the time: "Look, it's two o'clock."

Liu Haomei nestled beside me, hugging my arm, glanced at her phone, and then punched me with her little fist.

"You big liar, it's only 1:25. Sit with me for a while... I'm afraid once I start working, we won't have time to be together anymore."

I was ultimately too soft-hearted, or rather... I craved this ambiguity, so I nodded.

Liu Haomei peeked at me, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "Brother Wang, if Chunyan doesn't marry you in the future, I will. Will you want me?"

"Okay, sis, let's talk about something else."

I shook my head with a wry smile: "I haven't thought about marriage..."

Actually, I've thought about it. I've considered marrying Chunyan and having a son and a daughter. My daughter will become a seamstress after graduating from junior high school, and my son will learn to be a chef after junior high school. That would be great.

"So you were just playing around with Chunyan?" Liu Haomei pressed.

"Nonsense, I didn't mean to play around with Chunyan, I just think...it's too early to get married." I lit a cigarette and sighed.

"We don't know if Chunyan will agree yet; our hometown is also very poor."

Liu Haomei was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed.

Three motorcycles drove up.

I also became alert, went forward to remove the motorcycle key, and led Liu Haomei back to the farmland. I then took out a metal lighter and held it in my hand.

This position, five meters from the roadside, offers both offensive and defensive advantages.

If I can't beat them, I'll run away.

Sure enough, the three motorcycles came straight for us, stopping in front of my motorcycle.

Liu Haomei stood behind me, trembling, and asked, "Brother Wang, what should we do?"

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." I forced myself to remain calm.

Three motorcyclists got off their bikes one after the other.

The first motorcyclist pulled out a rubber baton, pointed it at me, and shouted, "What are you doing? Are you thieves? Or pimps?"

With a local accent and carrying a rubber baton, he must be a security guard.

I took a deep breath: "I am Daozixiong's brother from Sanlichuan. I have a residence permit with Captain Liu's personal seal on it."

"Brother Xiong's friend?" The three guys exchanged glances. "Really?"

I pulled out my residence permit and flew over.

A driver bent down, picked up the documents, glanced at them, and then smiled: "We're all on the same side, it's alright, this is Captain Liu's personal seal."

I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stepped forward: "Are you Captain Liu's men, or Director Hong's men from the Comprehensive Management Office of the New Development Zone?"

"You know Director Hong too? We work under Director Hong."

The driver opposite me was even more surprised and respectfully handed over my documents.

"We had dinner together last night. Director Hong has a big beard, right?"

I remained cautious and turned to take the documents, saying, "I'm here on business, not a thief."

The guys looked at Liu Haomei, grinning wickedly: "Brother, you have a nice girl. But you guys should just book a hotel, why are you doing it here on the grass? What if someone sees you?"

The locals are all pretty mean; they say really nasty things.

Just as I was about to explain, the guys got on their motorcycles and waved goodbye.

Liu Haomei breathed a sigh of relief and hugged my arm: "Brother Wang, you're really something. If it weren't for how well you've done, we would have been in real trouble today..."

"You know it's troublesome, why aren't you leaving?" I pinched Liu Haomei's nose. "Come on, I'll take you to work."

Liu Haomei threw herself into my arms, tears streaming down her face: "Brother Wang, let me hug you one more time. I'm going to work now, and it won't be easy for me to see you again."

I was at a loss, and my heart ached.

It's just going to work, not a matter of life and death, is it really that big of a deal?

Liu Haomei cried in my arms for two minutes, soaking the front of my clothes.

"Brother Wang, can't you... comfort me? Just once, okay?" Liu Haomei raised her face, her eyes full of expectation.

"Okay, sis, I... I'll just do it once, don't do it again."

I softened for a moment, cupped Liu Haomei's face in my hands, lowered my head, and planned to just poke at her and stop short of a real encounter.

But this comfort felt like falling into the endless river of time.

Liu Haomei hooked her arm around my neck and kissed me, while her other hand was busy giving me a thorough body search.

I was startled awake when the phone rang, and gently pushed Liu Haomei away.

The call was from Ding Zhili, who cautiously asked, "Brother Zu, I've arrived at Sihai Printing Factory. Where are you?"

"Coming!"

I hung up the phone, looked at Liu Haomei, and didn't know what to say.

Sigh, this girl always sets up gentle traps for me, making it impossible for me to extricate myself.

What am I to you?

I'm torn between two relationships. As a young person with a conscience, I feel I shouldn't be doing this, and I feel deeply guilty.

"Brother Wang, let's go."

Liu Haomei was very happy. She straightened my clothes, got into the car, and naturally hugged my lower back.

I suddenly remembered a question: "By the way, sis, how did you meet Bobo, and why are you with her?"

Bobo and Liu Haomei are not from the same place.

One is from the south, the other from the north; I don't know how they ended up together.

"My...my cousin used to work at the same clothing factory as Bobo, and they've always kept in touch." Liu Haomei's eyes reddened.

"I've been working here for a year, and my cousin went home to get married. This time, the glass factory withheld three months' wages from me, and my father is sick. I urgently needed money, so I made a mistake and contacted my cousin and then Bobo."

"It's nothing, I was just asking."

I started my motorcycle and headed to Sihai Printing Factory.

Ding Zhili was indeed waiting at the door, with several cigarette butts at his feet.

I parked the car and crossed my legs: "How long have you been here?"

"It wasn't long, just an hour." Ding Zhili smiled and looked at Liu Haomei: "Did Brother Zu take his girlfriend for a drive?"

"What I do with my girlfriend is none of your business!"

I smiled, rode my bike up, and called to the gatekeeper to open the gate: "Brother, I'm a friend of Boss Wu. Come in and see Boss Wu."

The security guard looked at me and nodded warmly: "You're the handsome guy who came the day before yesterday. Come in, Mr. Wu should be in his office."

I nodded and rode my motorcycle into the factory area, all the way to the building where General Manager Wu's office was located.

Ding Zhili jogged behind, panting heavily.

I didn't go upstairs; I called General Manager Wu first.

The phone is on.

"Mr. Wu, I'm dropping Liu Haomei off at work and I'd like to talk to you about something. Do you have time?"

"Oh, Mr. Wang, I was just thinking of inviting you to dinner sometime."

General Manager Wu smiled and said, "Have Liu Haomei go directly to the personnel department to report. I'm upstairs. Mr. Wang, please come up for tea."

I hung up the phone and patted Liu Haomei on the shoulder: "Haomei, go report to the personnel department."

"Brother Wang, thank you for your help."

Liu Haomei bowed, turned around and ran away.

Ding Zhili chuckled and said, "Brother Zu, is your girl a Japanese girl? She's so gentle and understanding!"

"Go to hell..."

I held back my curses and rolled my eyes at Ding Zhili: "Come upstairs with me to talk business. Making money is the priority!"