116. Is it true or not? There's no need to be so serious about it.

Bai Haonan met with the group of young men and women with great enthusiasm. Naturally, his burly and robust physique caught them off guard; one young woman even licked her lips, perhaps simply because she was feeling hot.

These people claimed to be representing Qian Niu to pick up Wang Jianguo. However, whenever Bai Haonan asked to see Qian Niu immediately, they would dodge the question, claiming that Qian Niu had gone on a nearby excursion with his girlfriend and had entrusted them to host him, suggesting he just hang out and look around first.

Hang out—yes, hadn't that always been Bai Haonan’s attitude toward life? He nodded with a smile and followed them, on foot.

Thanks to the detail of the socks, Bai Haonan noticed that their accomplices were everywhere along the way, appearing in twos and threes at street corners and along the roadside. Though their attire made it hard to link them, those socks acted as an inadvertent hint, allowing Bai Haonan to spot the secretive eye contact between them and the young people accompanying him.

How to describe these people? They clearly possessed the aura of the social underclass or the fringes of society, yet they insisted on dressing up like the social elites, such as Yu Jiali. There was a strong, jarring sense of dissonance. Bai Haonan, who wasn't one for literary descriptions, just felt that something was wrong no matter how he looked at it, so he decided to pretend he hadn't noticed; he hadn't even spotted this earlier.

The group explained along the way why they were walking: it was to introduce their new friend to the beautiful scenery of the area. They called it a state-level development zone, a miracle of economic progress that the whole world would soon admire, and everyone who came here would feel proud.

Bai Haonan really hadn't traveled to the seaside much. The few times he had visited coastal cities for away games, he had merely glanced at the beach attractions under the coach's strict instructions before heading back to the hotel. Naturally, he was completely unfamiliar with the tropical seaside landscape, and his expressions of novelty were genuine.

The group observed his reactions to tailor their conversation, alternating speakers—perhaps to give each other time to think. In any case, Bai Haonan only responded to the women, so eventually, the two women became his primary interlocutors.

Whether to lure him with their charms, the two women—one in her thirties with a slightly tacky, married-woman vibe, and the younger one who looked like a fresh graduate—were decent-looking. The younger one seemed a bit green, speaking in soft, delicate tones as she inquired about "Brother Wang's" situation: what kind of work he had done, how much money he had earned, and whether he had any savings.

Following Qian Niu's advice, Bai Haonan claimed he had saved some money, definitely kept for finding a wife. The eyes of these people clearly lit up, and they began to discuss among themselves that one should seize opportunities and work hard in this life, rather than thinking only of enjoyment at such a young age. In short, they wanted "Brother Wang" to invest his money. Their recurring opening line was: "There is a gold mine in front of you, but you don't even know how to start mining..."

Bai Haonan found it somewhat amusing. Wasn't this rhetoric similar to the life pursuits Yu Jiali spoke of? He should really tell them to say that to Boss Yu—her father was a mine owner!

Hahaha, miners trying to swindle a mine owner.

With this attitude, Bai Haonan naturally wouldn't be led by their pace. Whenever they talked too much, he would ask to see Qian Niu, insisting on waiting until he saw him before discussing anything else. Thus, they walked around in circles for at least three or four bus stops, leading him into a residential complex by the sea. It consisted of seven or eight high-rise buildings, brand new, with decent landscaping.

He had that feeling again—the sense of being watched, as if many windows were secretly observing him. Bai Haonan looked at the deserted, sun-drenched greenbelt around three in the afternoon; it felt eerie.

They went to the eighth floor of one of the buildings and opened an apartment. Bai Haonan was a little disappointed: it was a clean two-bedroom, one-living-room unit. The sofa, beds, kitchen, and bathroom were all tidy—nothing like the legendary crowded living quarters for a dozen men and women. There was only one bed. Some people enthusiastically poured tea, others turned on the TV. The older woman touted the good public security, claiming they didn't even need to lock their doors at night—no thieves, a happy life. In short, a group of people was going to great lengths to create a warm, "family" atmosphere.

But Bai Haonan looked at them like they were idiots. A bunch of complete strangers pretending to be family around him—weren't they sick? Especially when the older woman pretended to be familiar, acting surprised that his phone was dead and wanting to borrow it to make a call. Such a blatant excuse to get a chance to take or check his phone didn't make Bai Haonan nervous or defensive; it actually made him want to laugh. He began to grow impatient, urging them to tell him when he could see his friend.

Sensing his irritability, the group exchanged rapid glances. They left the most talkative young man to stay with him, and the others withdrew.

If that young girl had stayed, Bai Haonan might have found it interesting. Now, he couldn't be bothered. He sat on the sofa, lazily watching the TV, unable to find the remote; it was locked on the national news channel, which bored Bai Haonan, who had been hoping to find a sports channel to kill time.

Yes, just plain boring.

The young man mainly talked to Bai Haonan about national policies and the economic situation. Bai Haonan didn't understand a lick of it and wasn't interested. He didn't even have the mood to reply: "Stop talking nonsense. Let me see my people sooner, then we can talk about the rest. If you keep yapping, believe it or not, I'll beat you up. I get annoyed just looking at you, someone who doesn't know anything but keeps lecturing me!"

So, throughout the afternoon, at least three groups of people came to deal with the "stubborn element." Some were older women from the Northeast, others were groups of "company colleagues." They all claimed Qian Niu was preparing to start a business here. Bai Haonan ignored the men entirely, only giving perfunctory responses to the women. When three women arrived at dinner time carrying meat and vegetables, saying they wanted to cook and "experience life" with the two young men here, Bai Haonan was quite disappointed—they weren't even "plain rice" in terms of looks. He had hoped for some young girls to "come out and work." Besides, when had he ever cooked?

Back at the club, he had everything done for him. Even in the four or five months since he fled Jiangzhou, everywhere he went, he either ate out or had women serving him—Qiao Yingna's home-cooked meals, Chen Sufen's familiar flavors, Isha's free-range chicken, or the local dishes at the Yu family home. Bai Haonan had never messed with kitchen chores. Asking him to help a girl wash her underwear was one thing, but cooking? Forget it.

So, no matter how busy those people were, he sat lazily on the sofa and didn't budge.

When the food was finally served, Bai Haonan was initially vigilant about whether they had drugged it. But seeing potatoes and cabbage as the main staples, with only rare specks of minced meat, he stopped worrying about his dietary restrictions regarding spices or organs. This was practically boiled water and vegetables!

It actually fit his fitness routine, so Bai Haonan tucked in, eating plenty of vegetables and very little rice—after all, rice was the biggest source of carbohydrates and didn't fit his regimen. The other four wanted to compete with him for the food, but they were no match for the skills Bai Haonan had honed in the players' cafeteria over the years. Plus, the guy ate his fill and didn't wash the dishes; he just left them on the table and returned to his lazy TV-watching state, asking whenever anyone approached him where his friend was.

Like a turtle, he was hard to bite into.

What disappointed Bai Haonan most was that he was just staying there with that young man for the night. Where was the "crowded living" the restaurant owner had described? Where was the wild debauchery?

Total liars!

Of course, he slept quite well until he was woken up the next morning to "go look at the scenery." Even though he wasn't grumpy in the mornings, Bai Haonan wouldn't comply with such nonsense. He cursed at them and went back to sleep. Perhaps because they were afraid of his size, they didn't dare to force him. Finally, they tried sending the young girl to plead with him softly. Having waited so long, Bai Haonan really wanted to tell them: "Finally, you guys get it!"

Sure enough, perhaps thinking this bearded guy was easily swayed by beauty, the young girl finally became his guide, accompanying him on a "leg-training" session!

Of course, there were always guys wearing sandals with socks lurking in the distance, monitoring them. Bai Haonan finally understood: these people seemed to take off their sandals directly when entering rooms, so wearing socks was just like wearing slippers—more convenient?

Let's just view it as a joke for now. Bai Haonan was in the mood to chat and laugh with the young girl. Though she wasn't exactly pretty, she was at least a crisp, refreshing radish compared to those shriveled, pickled ones.

It was only seven or eight in the morning. Bai Haonan was initially confused—it was too late for sunrise, so why drag him out? But when they stepped onto the beach, he quickly noticed many such pairs being led out from various residential complexes. Many of them weren't wearing long socks!

Clearly, they were all newcomers like him. He was shocked by the scale of it for the first time. No wonder this area couldn't shake its reputation as a city of pyramid schemes; it certainly brought in a lot of local revenue.

With so many people, the beach was quite crowded. Bai Haonan could hear that those leading the newcomers were basically bragging about how the sea and sky were the focus of massive upcoming national investments. All one had to do was participate, and they would receive a "military network phone," and since the sea across the way was the ASEAN region, they'd get a universal ASEAN bank card. Soon, one could buy these buildings very cheaply and obtain dual citizenship for both the ASEAN region and China, along with a free Hong Kong-Macau pass. That building over there was supposedly a Southeast Asian red-light district under construction, with casinos invested in by famous Hong Kong stars like Andy Lau and Jackie Chan. In short, they painted the place like heaven; it felt like if you didn't invest and get rich here, you were letting down the Party and the people. However, no one was pressing for investment yet; they were all tacitly creating an atmosphere, not in a hurry to close the net.

While Bai Haonan thought, *Holy crap, people actually fall for this garbage?* he still moved closer to the guy bragging about the red-light district. They really had a common language. He put on a focused and contemplative look, nodding and stroking his beard, and after the morning brag-fest ended, he insisted on going to see that red-light district!

The "crisp radish" girl was left speechless, especially when Bai Haonan stared at those unfinished buildings with such seriousness. It probably left the long-socked guys trailing behind feeling quite bewildered.

From then on, Bai Haonan never returned to that neat apartment. He was led by the radish girl to visit various friends in different buildings. They began to pretend to be mysterious, asking if he knew what the "1040 Project" or the "638 Project" was. Bai Haonan didn't know a thing. He remained impatient with the men, but at least gave a few words to the women. At noon, when the radish girl accompanied him to eat a single dish and two bowls of rice, her thin frame seemed to sway with anemia. He felt a sudden pang of chivalry and ordered two more dishes, but the girl refused, saying this was an arduous and great project, and one shouldn't seek personal enjoyment but focus all one's mental energy on the chosen cause.

Bai Haonan observed this girl in her early twenties repeatedly, unable to tell if she was performing or if she had truly believed it down to her bones.

In the afternoon, they visited managers and presidents of increasingly higher ranks, until they reached the home of a "high-level leader" who was supposedly a former president of a provincial telecommunications company who had become a monk before choosing to dedicate himself to this cause. The apartment was more luxuriously furnished, with books on the sofa and calligraphy on the wall. After waiting for three groups of people to pass, the leader began his lecture. He was witty and humorous, talking non-stop for two hours about investment, constantly using books published on capital operation and wine boxes printed with the project's name to prove it was state-supported. Seeing the radish girl taking notes with an expression of pure worship, Bai Haonan couldn't help but whisper: "Let me tell you, the gold necklace he's wearing? I saw it on the neck of President Chen at the second place this afternoon, and that Auntie Ju this morning wore it too. Look, the third large bead on the left is missing a small one."

For a split second, a flash of panic crossed the thin girl's eyes, then it was quickly replaced by firmness: "No! You must have seen wrong. It's probably just the style... Listen to the lecture, listen carefully! Your life's starting point is right here!"

Bai Haonan sneered internally. This girl was clearly an actress who knew the truth. Whether she was an accomplice or someone forcing herself to believe it, the goal was the same: to lure people into the pit.

Watching the emaciated president start telling the story of how a beggar borrowed 30,000 yuan and eventually became a billionaire, Bai Haonan glanced at the girl's notes—they weren't as earnest as before, just perfunctory. Softening toward her, he asked: "If I pay the money, does the performance count for my friend, or for you?"

The girl looked up sharply, her eyes bright and intense: "Depends on how many shares you buy! 3,200 yuan only gets you one share, but 63,800 yuan gets you a direct promotion to manager, letting you strive for the high-yield position of a Grand President!"

Looking at the girl's malnourished face, which suddenly seemed a bit prettier, Bai Haonan couldn't help but grin: "Do managers get secretaries? Like you?"

Seeing the undisguised lust in his eyes, the girl was almost unable to handle it!

*Holy crap!*

*They invited you here to build a wonderful, magnificent cause that benefits humanity, to help the Party and the State select the future middle class, not for you to hit on girls!*