132. There Is Always Something Worth Protecting

It has to be said that Bai Haonan really put in the effort.

Originally, he mainly went to various sports venues during the weekend to promote and attract clients. After tasting the sweetness of success, he began working hard even on weekday evenings.

He had heard about this approach through chatting and interacting with customers. Playing a match on the weekend consumed at least half a day or more. For working-class people with children who tried their best to spend weekends with their kids, or those who wanted to sleep in or take short trips around the city, that time was somewhat precious. Therefore, it was becoming trendy to play a match right after leaving work around 7:00 or 8:00 PM, just in time to go back, take a shower, and rest. Compared to going out for socializing and drinking after work, this healthy alternative was being accepted by more people. Bai Haonan went to check it out himself and found that at most venues, matches were booked in two-hour slots, and the 6:00-7:00 PM and 8:00-9:00 PM slots were surprisingly packed to capacity, much higher in utilization than regular daytime hours. Therefore, he drove there with Niuniu to take a look, and their mutual conclusion was to use the rotating-venue method to familiarize themselves with these connections.

Consequently, weekend venue-hopping actually decreased, as those were usually group promotions with a dozen people, while weekdays were dedicated to taking people around to various venues. Slowly, Bai Haonan's feet began to itch, and he would secretly join in himself, though trying his best to restrain himself and simply enjoy the joy of playing football.

Yu Jiali strongly approved of this lifestyle far away from young women and specially adjusted her own work schedule. She would come over to work out around 5:00 PM every day, and right after exercising, she would have dinner with Bai Haonan, then drive the Hummer with a few players to these venues. As long as she wasn't working overtime, she accompanied him as much as possible. It felt just like being in love, sitting by the sidelines and watching Bai Haonan move freely and gracefully on the pitch—it was impossible not to love him.

It felt as though this was the kind of ordinary yet sparkling romance she longed for.

Bai Haonan was also trying his best to restrain himself, at least by not flirting with women and keeping his focus entirely on the pitch.

Since this circle had nothing to do with professional football and wasn't all that dirty or sleazy for now, he might as well do this job well. Therefore, by exhausting himself every night at the pitch and the fitness center, the urge to visit nightlife venues seemed to fade away. After all, his energy levels were different from when he was an infinite-energy teenager!

At most, in the evenings he would grab skewers and a couple of drinks downstairs with Old Ka and Niuniu, or watch a match at the rooftop small bar—simple yet fulfilling.

That was because the money was genuinely rolling in.

Having an investor like Yu Jiali who didn't care about immediate returns was simply wonderful. Following the bonus system designed by Xiaoman, most of the gross profit was distributed as commissions, leaving very little net profit for the shareholders—less than ten percent. Because the actual proportion of contracts signed directly at the various sports venues wasn't huge, many football enthusiasts still came to the fitness center to inspect the facilities before paying for membership cards. Thus, the commission shares distributed to each party weren't massive, but for everyone involved, this was effortless pure income. With their venue revenues of several hundred yuan per match, they were thoroughly satisfied to receive commissions of twenty to thirty thousand yuan in just the first month.

Naturally, Bai Haonan was the highest earner. Xiaoman had designed him to sit at the apex of the pyramid like a chief general, but Bai Haonan told her to transfer all the money into that bank card Yu Jiali had given him. Boss Yu could manage the accounts however she pleased; he didn't have any moments where he wanted to spend recklessly anyway, because Yu Jiali's rule was that he could spend however he liked, but for every single cent spent, he had to write down an accounting explanation for her. So Bai Haonan simply couldn't be bothered to use it!

Both sides were engaged in a bit of a tug-of-war.

Meanwhile, the fitness center's coaches and outreach girls all made around seven to eight thousand yuan in their first month, including Li Lin. Most of it came from commissions and bonuses, and the atmosphere during payday was quite touching. Xiaowwan even silently stood by the rooftop's net, lost in her own thoughts.

Even Old Li, who didn't work full-time and only drove cars as requested, made over three thousand yuan. Mother Li made a special trip to the fitness center to invite Bai Haonan to dinner at their home. Suspecting she wanted to ask if she could also find some kind of part-time job there, Bai Haonan smiled and declined.

Niuniu, who was gradually able to walk on his own ground, didn't snatch Old Li's driving job. Confirming that they had accumulated over 120 clients in the second month, he went back to his former training base and pulled five or six kids out to help, reportedly after getting into a massive, unhappy shouting match with Old Zhong.

In the eyes of Bai Haonan and Niuniu, there was no question of morality here. What was the point of keeping a semi-professional team that couldn't even play in the League Two? Wasn't it just swindling a bunch of poor kids into messing around blindly? Niuniu even began contacting his old connections to see if they could recruit more young players who couldn't make match rosters, perhaps truly preparing to open a branch.

With the arrival of spring, the fitness business entered its peak season—at least in regions with distinct winters and summers, the number of people playing football would be vastly greater than in winter. Yu Jiali confirmed that this business truly had a future. Perhaps inspired by the internal tournament of the banking system, she forward-looking proposed that next month, under the name of Jiane Fitness Center, they should host a football cup tournament spanning the entire province—a Jiane Cup with quite generous prize money. Firstly, it would serve to scope out how many football enthusiasts remained in the provincial industry, and secondly, it would build a reputation for Jiane. If they were to open branch locations, they would first test the waters in a few other Tier 2 major cities within the province. She always believed in massive investment bringing massive returns, and her vision was leagues ahead of Bai Haonan's.

According to Boss Yu's attitude, this matter definitely needed to be coordinated with the provincial sports committee to gain their support, so they would use Niuniu and Kala's names for it. Bai Haonan could not be exposed; he would still maintain the title of General Manager under the alias Wang Jianguo.

Therefore, entering April, the stream of fitness enthusiasts at Jiane Fitness Center became an endless flow every day past noon. Aside from regular fitness clients dropping by at any time and a small number of people paying higher prices for personal trainers, the explosive crowd pullers were the one-hour free football special training sessions held every day at 12:30 PM and 6:30 PM. These were perfectly suited for office workers looking to strengthen and adjust their bodies, especially the noon session—a detail Bai Haonan had discovered at the various venues. Because football pitches occupied a fair amount of land, they were somewhat far from downtown areas, and any match required at least a dozen people to play. No matter how fanatical someone was, nobody would go play a match during their lunch break at work. Training, however, could be done that way, and Jiane's location was so central! Coming over at noon to do some training with a larger or smaller group on the pitch, followed by a sauna bath, left people feeling exceptionally refreshed for the afternoon shift without cutting into their personal evening time.

Simply adjusting the schedule of this training class caused the operating reception numbers of the fitness center to multiply. After all, most equipment sat idle during working hours. It even naturally spawned a sports dining service. Since exercising immediately after eating lunch or dinner was obviously bad for digestion, eating right after exercise was ideal. Thus, the small water bar upstairs was converted into a kitchen and restaurant, serving a few relatively light and carefully crafted athletic meals. Mother Li finally saw her wish fulfilled as her family of three worked together, bossing two assistants around all day making airplane-meal-like concoctions that yielded quite hefty profits!

Of course, Bai Haonan was a regular diner here. Since he lived right next door anyway, he had completely adapted to this pampered lifestyle. He could leisurely sleep in during the morning, slide into slippers, and come over to grab a dinner tray for lunch, with Ada naturally trotting closely behind him. To his surprise, today Li Lin was moonlighting as a waitress in the restaurant: "What are you doing? Weren't you supposed to go take photos for publicity?"

Since they were recruiting for the provincial tournament, Li Lin was the natural choice for image spokesperson. The production of various promotional materials and posters required her to work as a graphic model for photoshoots, with Old Li personally driving to act as his daughter's assistant—easy, pleasant, and safe. Therefore, Li Lin, dressed not quite like a waitress, smiled very sweetly: "We finished all the work by morning, and on the way back I stopped by to buy some lamb kidneys to stew a soup for you..."

Bai Haonan winced so hard his teeth felt like they were aching: "Good grief! Who told you to fix this up?"

Li Lin still blushed slightly and whispered: "The girls said so last night. When you go out for skewers with Uncle Ka and the others, don't you always order lamb kidneys? You definitely need a tonic!" Since they all lived in the same building up and down, the girls would sometimes join in when everyone went down for skewers.

Thus, Bai Haonan began to regret putting this girl in the same dormitory with the other five: "You'd better move back in with your parents. I think those few might be changing places soon anyway!"

Li Lin opened her eyes wide in bewilderment: "Why? I feel like I've learned so much!" As she spoke, she briskly prepared a tray of food for Ada and placed it at his feet so she could tease the dog.

Bai Haonan couldn't be bothered to explain. Seeing Chen Meijuan walk in, he hurriedly picked up his soup bowl and made his escape to avoid catching the attention of more people. Fortunately, the gazes of the few people in the small restaurant tended to linger on Li Lin's face and Chen Meijuan's figure.

Spring and summer had arrived, after all. Chen Meijuan, whose figure was naturally plump and voluptuous, was now frequently wearing deep-V dresses that fully displayed her proud assets. She seemed to enjoy these glances; at least the traces left behind by her time in the pyramid scheme were no longer visible on her face. With an air of elegance and poise, she came over, picked up a dinner tray, and casually brushed her hand against Li Lin's body, eliciting a soft cry of surprise from the girl as she squatted down. Only then did Chen Meijuan pull back her expression and sit down across from Bai Haonan. She had specifically called Bai Haonan to invite him to lunch: "I've already leased a storefront from President Yu. I'll be asking for leave later to go stock up on goods in Guangdong. Lend me some capital for inventory, will you?"

This was precisely why Bai Haonan had said the five of them might move out of the dormitory. People truly were different; after just two months of work—which mostly served to wash away the imprisonment of the pyramid scheme nightmare—two of the girls had already contacted their families, wanting to meet with them first before figuring out the rest. One had already tried going home to visit relatives, while Xiaowwan was increasingly inclined to work in Bai Haonan's office, replacing him in secretarial duties to bridge the relationship between Jiazheng Investment and the fitness center. Indeed, she dealt with Yu Jiali quite frequently. Chen Meijuan, however, was audacious enough to rent a shopping mall storefront based on the property information from Jiazheng, right downstairs, preparing to sell sportswear as an accessory business to the fitness center. Her ambitions were indeed a bit wild, but Bai Haonan found it odd: "You dared to rent a storefront, yet those two months of earnings aren't even enough for your renovation costs. Why don't you just borrow everything from Boss Yu? Why come to me?"

Chen Meijuan used her chopsticks to pick food from his plate: "I'm opening this shop for your share, consider it your secret stash so you won't end up with zero pocket money in the future, with everything locked down by Boss Yu."

Truth be told, whether it was because of spring or not, Bai Haonan's little universe stirred slightly at this subtle flirtation, like a prairie fire ready to ignite. Yet he still managed to hold back, using his chopsticks to swat away hers: "I'm practicing self-cultivation and discipline! Don't stir up this wicked fire."

Chen Meijuan wrinkled her nose and whispered: "You'll realize how good I am after we get married. Are you planning to snatch up that little girl?"

Bai Haonan happened to glance past her and saw Li Lin stretching her neck to peek from behind, so he lowered his voice as well: "Damn it, it's been two months and you still think I'm up to something? I told you, when we came out of that place, we left that kind of thing behind. As for her, I haven't even said a dozen words to her, alright?"

Chen Meijuan smiled with narrowed eyes: "You think I don't know your thoughts? You forgot who brought you the most girls back then? Xiaoman wasn't brought by me..."

Her voice sounded soft, murmuring with a slight nasal tone. Bai Haonan couldn't help pinching his own nose and muttering thickly: "Stop talking! I'm practicing the art of purity!"

Chen Meijuan chuckled: "You're probably conserving your energy to get married to Yu Jiali, aren't you? We've discussed it too—those days back then were a bit too crazy, so you really do need some nourishment. Should I buy you some health tonics when I go stock up on goods?"

Feeling slightly shaken, Bai Haonan surrendered: "I'll lend you the money, I'll lend it to you, let's not discuss this anymore. I said, don't talk about these things in front of a kid!"

Chen Meijuan hummed: "It's all for your sake anyway!"

Bai Haonan rolled his eyes: "Thank you! Your psychological state really requires a doctor!"

Chen Meijuan took it for granted: "What doctor? Staying in that place for a year and a half left me swindled, isolated from everyone, and psychologically twisted. If I hadn't come to you, I probably would've twisted into doing all sorts of crazy things. Only when I'm with you do I feel somewhat grounded—even if you're a scoundrel, you're an honest scoundrel, unlike those hypocrites!"

Bai Haonan let out a self-deprecating, cold laugh: "Neither you nor I are good people. I never ask how massive the pit you're hiding behind is, but at least now, since freaks like us have no shame ourselves, don't ruin a young girl!"

Chen Meijuan clearly wasn't intimidated by his tone: "You really are trying to play the good man in front of Boss Yu, huh? Maybe a woman's mindset is different from yours; I just want to drag such a little princess into the muddy waters. After all, you were the one who wanted me to keep her for you back then, and there were so many things you wanted to teach her."

Bai Haonan sighed: "You... even a good life can't make your mental health normal. Do you want to join our fitness workouts to recuperate?"

Chen Meijuan laughed charmingly: "You can be my personal trainer and come discipline me..."

The corners of Bai Haonan's mouth twitched, and he decided to chase her away: "Alright, alright, go get your inventory. From now on, run your clothing store independently, stand on your own two feet, and build your own career, okay?"

Sensing Bai Haonan's resolute stance, Chen Meijuan paused in surprise for a long moment: "Is there really no possibility left?"

Knowing what she meant, Bai Haonan shook his head firmly: "No possibility! I told you, my going to pull people out of that place was just an act for the moment, and I didn't deceive you about anything. Can we just part ways on good terms now?"

Chen Meijuan took a deep breath, a fleeting moment of madness even flashing in her eyes, but it finally faded into dullness. She lowered her head to play with her chopsticks: "Take good care of yourself in the future. Don't just listen to Boss Yu about everything; a man who is too obedient will eventually annoy a woman, especially a high-level woman like her. Right now it looks like she really likes you, but marriage and daily life are a completely different story."

Bai Haonan also softened his tone: "Who said anything about marrying her? You should rein it in yourself, too. At least hiding under Jiazheng's brand to do a little business won't get you into trouble. Find someone when the time is right."

Chen Meijuan nodded, then stood up in silence and walked out.

Shi Jianren felt no emotional turbulence as he lowered his head to finish the food on his plate. Less than ten minutes later, Xiaoman called him, her tone quite calm: "Sister Juan said she wants to resign, asked me to settle her accounts, and said she wanted to borrow sixty thousand yuan in cash from you."

Bai Haonan gave an affirmative hum and agreed: "Tell President Yu to deduct it from my account."

Perhaps seeing him hang up the phone, Li Lin quietly crept over to clear Chen Meijuan's dinner tray, then asked with a soft smile: "What were you two chatting about?"

Bai Haonan looked up and saw the girl wearing a loose sportswear sweatshirt, still sporting that slightly tacky little cocksocks hairstyle, and still wearing that bright, somewhat ingratiating smile on her face. For no reason, it made Bai Haonan's mood turn bright and sunny: "Nothing much. She decided to go venture out into the world independently and won't be at the fitness center anymore."

Li Lin immediately gasped in astonishment, her mouth forming an unprecedented 'O', followed by an exclamation of admiration: "Sister Juan is going out on her own? So brave!" Her tone of awe was completely genuine: "I admire her so much!"

Bai Haonan could only put on as stern a face as possible and smack the table: "Admit? Don't you think she betrayed us and we should draw a clear line?"

The girl was truly easy to fool. Her mouth turned down in full reluctance: "Do we really have to do that?" Her expression looked just like an elementary school student participating in cliquish bullying.

Bai Haonan had to quickly stand up while holding back his laughter: "She left, which means she's a bad person. You aren't allowed to associate with her anymore!"

Li Lin hurriedly nodded, stacked the dinner trays, and turned to follow him: "I know. But I want to go out and play with you guys tonight."

Having already cheered up considerably, Bai Haonan turned around in surprise: "What for? We're going out to handle business!"

Li Lin pouted slightly again: "Those girls either watch TV or calculate accounts at night, and when I'm with my parents, I feel like a third wheel. They tell me to interact more with young people, but I also know I'm slow and easy to trick. Today that photographer gave me his phone number, and my dad nagged me about it for ages when he got home. I don't want him coming with me next time, it's so annoying! Let me go out with you guys tonight!"

Bai Haonan had to put on a righteous front: "There are nothing but grown men on our pitch, what would you go do? Why don't you go hang out at the university with Niuniu? College students are all highly educated, maybe you can even find a boyfriend!" Although this remark sounded a bit hypocritical, it at least stemmed from a kind intention.

As a result, Li Lin looked at him with disdain: "Oh, please give it a rest! I already know what goes through those boys' minds! All they do is play video games or watch porn all day long!"

Bai Haonan burst out laughing as he ran off with Ada. It seemed the mediocre junior college Li Lin attended must have had a terribly low standard.