Why would a winner in life even bother to exert themselves?

Bai Haonan returned to sleep at Qianniu’s place. In all honesty, Qianniu was likely the person who weighed heaviest on his heart. He didn’t care in the slightest whether those women would jump off a building or simply vanish into thin air; he was just that thick-skinned.

Qianniu, however, remained in a state of agony and had no desire to speak. Even after the doctor came to re-examine his injuries—confirming a hairline fracture in his lower leg that required only a month or two of immobilization to walk again—it failed to lift his spirits even a fraction.

Bai Haonan had never experienced heartbreak or emotional collapse. One could say he had always gone out of his way to avoid such a predicament. Instead of offering sympathy or comfort, he jeered and mocked his poor brother with a grin, grabbing a decorative hand fan and performing a ridiculous, wiggling Dai-style dance around the room. His clumsy, swaying movements made it impossible for Qianniu to sink into his self-pity. Qianniu was forced to roar, "Old Nan! You bastard, stop making me laugh!" He then pulled the sheet over his head and turned away, refusing to make another sound.

Bai Haonan had no choice but to play with Ada. To his surprise, the dog knew to tug on his pant leg to lead him toward Yu Jiali’s side. It seemed the animal possessed keen instincts and a sharp mind. Bai Haonan quietly helped close the door, then returned to watch over Qianniu as he fell asleep, worried the guy might do something rash.

Fortunately, everyone was still alive the next morning. Of course, everyone looked terrible—well, except for the oblivious Li Lin, who was joyfully trying on the clothes the assistant had delivered. Even though Yu Jiali maintained a cold, distant expression and wouldn't even look at Bai Haonan, she still made sure to show the man plenty of face. Everything was from expensive, name-brand labels, and none of them were the same. The assistant had a good eye; the sizing seemed spot on. Even Qianniu received some high-quality T-shirts and button-downs. Bai Haonan, however, got nothing—Yu Jiali was clearly expressing her displeasure.

Perhaps if Bai Haonan had gone over to coax her last night, things might have been better.

Regardless, when Chen Meijuan and the others changed into the new clothes, the way they looked at Bai Haonan and Boss Yu changed. At the very least, they realized that Jian Guo had thoroughly offended his boss this time. Perhaps even doubling down on the sweet talk last night hadn't been enough to appease her, as there were no signs of any special intimacy between them.

Of course, Li Lin didn't care about any of that. She was already having the time of her life at the five-star hotel’s breakfast buffet, a sight that left Xiao Wan and the others looking at her with strange expressions—it was hard to tell if they were envious or pitying the girl.

If they had stayed at the five-star hotel indefinitely, Boss Yu certainly wouldn't have frowned. Bai Haonan even suspected that the hotel might be an investment of the Yu family, as the security guards’ uniforms looked similar to those at the Jia Zheng Building, and everything felt freshly updated. "Geez... should I rent a place?"

Yu Jiali wouldn't even look at him. "Do you really intend to support all these women? Don't you find that absurd?"

Bai Haonan acted as if it were nothing. "The fitness center needs staff anyway. I promise I won't sleep with them; that was a special situation that called for special measures. To mess around now would be taking advantage of them!"

Yu Jiali still refused to look up. "That is your business. As I said before, manage your own enterprise. I'm going to the office. Think carefully about what you’re going to do. The world doesn't stop turning just because you aren't there."

Bai Haonan hurriedly fawned over her, escorting his boss to the hotel entrance. He saw the bright yellow Hummer parked out front, alongside the Bentley that had come to pick up Yu Jiali. It was only a hundred meters to the Jia Zheng Building, yet she made such a show of it!

Bai Haonan even groveled to open the back door for her. Yu Jiali tried her hardest to remain cold. "Old Bai, you are too self-centered. You think the world should revolve around you, that you're the protagonist of an idol drama where women and money are yours for the taking if you just wish for them. But the world isn't like that. Not everyone will like you, and not everyone should. You don't cherish anything you've gained. If you let this advantage waste away, you will suffer the cruelest punishment from fate. Do you understand?"

Bai Haonan bobbed his head and bowed as he watched Yu Jiali get inside, agreeing with every word, though even the valet could likely tell he was just paying lip service. He was more interested in joyfully taking the Hummer’s keys from the driver and waving enthusiastically as the Bentley pulled away.

In truth, as soon as the Bentley started moving, Yu Jiali couldn't help but peek out the back window, watching the tall, handsome man standing there.

Bai Haonan wasn't as eager as he had pretended to be. He stood there with a goofy grin, watching the top-tier luxury car pull up to the building next door. His gaze lingered on the Yu family’s eight-story building across the street for a moment. A certain expression crossed his face before he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, then sauntered back into the lobby, spinning the car keys on his finger.

Yu Jiali’s gaze remained somewhat infatuated; he really was quite handsome.

Even though his clothes and shoes combined cost less than a hundred yuan and he looked down on his luck, the way Bai Haonan carried himself, combined with the keys spinning on his finger, made every waiter in the hotel treat him with respect. He walked toward the lobby lounge like a nouveau riche tycoon. The six girls and Qianniu were sitting there. Apart from Li Lin—that oblivious girl who would steal glances at anyone passing by—the other six were dazed. Xiao Wan, however, kept her eyes fixed on Bai Haonan. As soon as she saw him approach, she stood up, prompting the others to do the same. Qianniu rolled his eyes. Even though he hadn't participated in a single day of the pyramid scheme, he had lain there listening to it for two full months; he knew these women were all bloody crazy!

Bai Haonan tried his best to wipe away all traces of the pyramid scheme. "Damn, did you see the boss's car? A Bentley! Four million plus for one vehicle. Those 'Big Executives' brag every day about having tens or hundreds of millions in assets, yet they show off a BMW 5 Series, swapping it back and forth to pretend it's their own, not even bothering to change the license plates. I can't even be bothered to laugh. *That* is a car a real boss drives. See that? Those 'Big Executives' only know how to scam the poor. Let's go, time to check out my company. Even if I can't afford a Bentley, mine is worth over a million at least—though it’s a pity it's my boss's car. What can I do? I'm just too handsome."

Only Li Lin played along with his unfunny joke. "Actually, you could trim your hair and beard. I know how to do that, if there were tools."

Bai Haonan snapped at her, "Go home, alright? The world out here is complicated and dark. Go home, stay with your parents, find an honest man to marry, and stop messing around!"

The "honest man" winced in pain once more.

Li Lin pouted, acting spoiled. "What's wrong..." She was wearing a black, knee-length slip dress. To Bai Haonan’s eye, it was at least a seven or eight-hundred-yuan brand for young girls. While it had no provocative elements and she wore no stockings, it highlighted the tall, fair, and sunny disposition of this Northeastern girl. Right, perhaps the boss hadn't mentioned it, so the assistant hadn't bought her shoes. Unlike the others, who wore what they had on yesterday, Li Lin refused to wear her professional high heels. She shuffled about in the hotel’s high-end disposable cotton slippers, looking like the standard soft, cute girl. And now, speaking in that rough, bold Northeastern accent with a sweet, soft, and adorable voice, one had to say—in three words—it created a powerful, contrasting cuteness.

Bai Haonan felt his bones melt. "Ah, fine, fine, do whatever you want! Just don't touch me! Careful, or I'll turn you into what I saw when I opened the door yesterday!"

The scene he had stumbled upon when kicking the door open had indeed been shocking. Li Lin instinctively pulled back the hand she had reached out, her face turning bright red as she twisted her fingers together and stuck out her tongue, looking indescribably pitiful.

Only then did Bai Haonan go over to hoist Qianniu—who was dressed in a white T-shirt, a grey-green outdoor vest, and wading shorts—to his feet. Xiao Wan quickly reached out to grab the water bottles and medicine bags, not even forgetting the food for Ada. The other four, led by Chen Meijuan, surrounded Li Lin. They probably figured Bai Haonan was playing "hard to get"; how could he let such a fat sheep slip away? So, they had to make sure she didn't run off.

Bai Haonan felt like he was marching with a group of lunatics!

Of course, in a sense, these women who had never seen the world thought the massive bright yellow Hummer was even more luxurious than the understated, elegant Bentley, and far superior to yesterday’s Land Cruiser. Little did they know, the car was just loud on the outside—which actually suited Bai Haonan quite well.

It was also perfect for overloading by one or two people.

Since it was just a few hundred meters across the street, Bai Haonan arrogantly parked the car right on the curb outside the shopping mall’s entrance. There were bollards installed, but he just drove right over them!

This way of living, like a street rat in a pyramid scheme, seemed to excite the female pyramid schemers. Even Qianniu opened his eyes and said cautiously, "Won't the police arrest us..."

Bai Haonan scoffed, "I've got connections up top!"

The look on Chen Meijuan and the others' faces likely reflected the image of Yu Jiali sweating it out on him, but they knew enough to help him tend to Ada.

Bai Haonan walked in with the air that the entire mall belonged to him. "This is business. Real, legitimate business you can see and touch... Xiao Man, you studied law, right? You listen to those 'Big Executives' brag about 'major projects' every day. Do they know what a major project—especially one involving the government—actually looks like? Can they produce meeting minutes, project proposals, petitions for approval, or official authorization from superiors? Do they have a concrete project plan, a project layout, a start date, and a completion date? Do they have a detailed table listing the total investment, broken down into the cost of every small item? Any project of even moderate scale can't break ground without these things. I’ve only sat in on half a month of formal meetings, and even I understand this. You university students with education and work experience—how do you not know this?"

Annoyingly, just as Xiao Man prepared to quote precedents, Bai Haonan blocked her. "Fine, fine! No need to debate with me. The point now is to see what you all can actually do. The foot traffic in this mall is pathetic..."

It had to be said that Bai Haonan’s demeanor was a waste if he wasn't a pyramid scheme executive. As they rode the escalator up, he critiqued the somewhat empty shopping mall with abandon, his voice echoing through the massive atrium. Anyone else might have been too embarrassed to walk with such a person, but the five female pyramid schemers listened with extreme seriousness, nodding along. Li Lin simply grinned like a fool, secretly reaching out with her foot to tease Ada; she clearly hadn't been a good student.

But to outsiders, they looked impressive—six beautiful girls fawning over him. If he hadn't been carrying Qianniu on his back, he would have looked like a major boss. By the time they reached the fitness center at the top floor, the man and woman at the entrance didn't dare provoke them, only asking cautiously who they were looking for once they approached.

Bai Haonan knew these people must have been hired when it opened, so he wasn't embarrassed. "You know the boss of the fitness center is Mr. Wang, right? That’s me. Call someone who knows me to show me the way... No need... Damn it, you old bastard!"

He raised his voice on the last part, echoing through the wide fitness center lobby. Then, the group saw a slightly chubby, large black man on a row of treadmills by the floor-to-ceiling windows, who turned around happily and said in a perfectly authentic Beijing accent, "You old bastard, you finally came back, my dear... wait a second!"