Borrowing Strength

Wang Xuan slept very comfortably that night, both physically and mentally.

He brought breakfast in from outside. Seeing Shen Leman acting spoiled on the bed, Wang Xuan smiled and fed her bite by bite.

Looking at the gentle and considerate man in front of her, so refined and elegant, then thinking of his mighty, domineering bearing before outsiders, Shen Leman felt as if her heart were about to melt at being granted such one-of-a-kind treatment.

Before the two of them had finished their affectionate moment, the phone on the table rang. Wang Xuan set down the bowl and answered it.

"Ah Xuan? It's Baki."

Wang Xuan's brows drew together slightly. He could more or less guess why Baki was calling.

After chatting for a few minutes, he ended the call. Lying on the bed, Shen Leman asked, "Was that Baki?"

"Yeah. I'm taking Baki out to eat lunch. Are you coming?"

"No way. I still have to go check on the clothing factory. The handover is finished, and we're getting ready to hire workers, so I need to keep an eye on things." Shen Leman had already resigned from the hospital and was preparing to focus on managing the clothing factory for Wang Xuan. "By the way, aren't we making any other clothes? The styles we have now are way too... well, you know!"

"You know what? I think you'd look great wearing them."

Seeing Wang Xuan's strange smile, Shen Leman's face instantly reddened. She grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him. "Go to hell!"

At noon, at Fu Kee Restaurant.

"I'll toast to Big Brother." Wang Xuan filled glasses for Baki and himself, then raised his glass in a toast.

The two drained their glasses. After setting them down, Baki spoke first. "You took three of Viper's streets with your men last night?"

"That's right. I received reliable information that Viper was behind the ambush a few days ago."

"Since you were going to make a move, why didn't you notify me first? Viper was arrested—that was a rare opportunity. If we'd acted together, we definitely could've wiped him out. Although Viper's been badly weakened, his foundation is still intact. If he turns around and comes after you, can you withstand it?"

Looking at Baki's regretful expression, Wang Xuan remained impassive, but inwardly he disagreed. If he had called Baki, eliminating Viper would have been easy. But afterward, Baki's strength would inevitably have doubled. Although Wang Xuan himself would have gained quite a bit, the balance of power would remain unchanged, making it much harder for him to rise.

Acting alone had allowed him to obtain nearly as many benefits. Once they had been absorbed, his overall strength would not be much weaker than Baki's. Of course, that depended on him weathering Viper's retaliation. If he then found a way to eliminate Viper, the benefits he could swallow would be far greater.

For the sake of long-term considerations, that was why he had deliberately left Viper a sliver of hope.

Still, Wang Xuan did not take Viper seriously. In this world, Viper was not the protagonist. Turning the tables was nowhere near that easy.

Wang Xuan refilled both glasses, then raised his own and drained it. "Big Brother, things happened rather suddenly this time. The information from the police came too late, so I didn't have time to notify you. Besides, we didn't know how long Viper would be held. If too much time passed and he was released on bail, we would've missed the opportunity. That's why I acted alone."

Looking at Wang Xuan's sincere expression, Baki began to wonder as well. After all, he was not Viper and did not understand the situation so clearly. Even Viper had only realized afterward that Wang Xuan had a deal with the police. So although Baki was somewhat displeased that Wang Xuan had cut him out and acted alone, there was not much he could say.

After all, Wang Xuan had brought back three streets, which would substantially increase Baki's monthly dividends. Saying too much would make him look like someone who complained even after getting the benefit, and word of that would damage his reputation.

"Big Brother, you know I don't have a channel for getting drugs, so I'll have to trouble you with the drug business on these three streets."

A smile immediately appeared on Baki's face. He nodded without hesitation at this easy-money deal, praising Wang Xuan inwardly for being sensible. All the displeasure he had felt vanished at once. Territory was not what mattered; what mattered was whether there was money to be made.

"You don't need to worry about Viper. You're my underling. If that bastard Viper really dares to come looking for trouble, I'll take him on for you!" Baki clinked his glass against Wang Xuan's, thumped his chest, and guaranteed that he would protect his underling with righteous conviction.

The meal lasted more than an hour. Once he got into the mood, Baki began boasting about his glorious exploits from back in the day, while Wang Xuan could only play along from the side.

That afternoon, Baki's men began taking over the drug business on the three newly occupied streets. With Wang Xuan's men added in, even if Viper sorted out his internal problems, it was impossible for him to make the first move and reclaim the territory.

Although Viper was furious when he received the news, he could do nothing about it. Acting rashly was out of the question. If he failed, the consequences would be disastrous, and he might even lose the rest of his territory to others.

With Viper falling silent, Wang Xuan turned his attention back to his own affairs. The clothing factory had finished recruiting its workers and was about to begin operations. However, since it was located in the New Territories, he had specially paid a visit to Da Dong, East Star's man in charge there, to avoid trouble.

The two of them had some history. When the Fragrant Hall had first been established, Da Dong had suggested that Baki take over as the man in charge. Although his purpose had been to set up Sha Meng, he had indeed done Baki a great favor, which in turn meant he had helped Wang Xuan as well.

Taking advantage of the factory's opening, Wang Xuan also wanted to strengthen his relationship with Da Dong and pave the way for the future.

Da Dong also valued Wang Xuan's potential. Especially after Wang Xuan had taken Viper's territory and grown stronger, he had shown Wang Xuan plenty of respect by attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Afterward, he got completely drunk with Baki and the others, and both hosts and guests left satisfied.

Everything had fallen into place. Neither the nightclub nor the clothing factory currently needed Wang Xuan to worry about them anymore. Suddenly finding himself idle, Wang Xuan felt rather uncomfortable. He had nothing to do, yet he could not run around recklessly for fear of being ambushed, so he could only stay home and watch recordings.

After watching them for several days, an idea suddenly came to him.

The film and television industry in Hong Kong and Taiwan was at its peak at this time, and the triads were heavily involved as well. So why shouldn't he get a piece of the action?

The problem was that he had no experience in this field. If he operated blindly, he could not afford to lose even if he had plenty of money. After thinking it over for a long time, Wang Xuan finally decided to establish a film company first, beginning with the production of adult films!

It was mainly for learning!