Each Harboring Ghostly Intentions

"Cough, cough..."

Back in the bedroom of his rented villa on Earth, Bai Yang coughed a few times involuntarily.

"The air quality here really can't compare to over there. Stay there long enough, and coming back actually feels a bit uncomfortable."

Muttering to himself, he collapsed limply onto the soft big bed like he had no bones.

His head was a mess—one moment filled with all kinds of bloody scenes, the next with the villagers' problems, a jumbled chaos in his mind...

Thinking and thinking, he forced himself to perk up. There seemed to be a lot of things to do next, so many threads that he had no idea where to start.

"Why overthink it? At least I'm a rich man now. No way I'm handling everything myself—I've got money to burn! I'll find someone to run errands for me. Why stress over stuff I can just delegate? Hire a secretary or something. When there's work, the secretary does it; when there's none... ahem, stop right there—I've got Little Cat..."

But who would be the right person to run errands for him? He thought it over, then slapped his forehead. Got it—Xiong Da. That bear-like guy was perfect.

"Buy him and his factory outright, call the shots myself, do whatever I want. Xiong Da's a straightforward guy, won't ask too many questions. Plus, that factory's big enough and remote enough—perfect conditions..."

With that in mind, he pulled out his phone to call Xiong Da, only to find it dead...

He charged it, and a few minutes later turned it on. Before he could make the call, a flood of missed calls and text notifications froze his phone!

Speechless, he waited for the phone to recover, then glanced at it. The volume was huge, but it was only from a few people.

Among the dozens of missed calls, two were from his dad, one from Liu Qingshan, two from Song Guotao, five from Xiong Da, and the rest were all from Song Yidao...

As for texts, aside from two spam messages from the carrier, they were all from Song Yidao too—just useless stuff like "You there?", "Urgent business," "Extremely urgent"...

Family came first, so Bai Yang called his dad back first.

"Dad, what's up?"

Time to play the good son—after all, his parents worked hard to raise him.

"Nothing much. I've already sent you the third installment payment for the goods. Keep an eye out."

"Oh, okay."

If Dad hadn't mentioned it, Bai Yang would've almost forgotten.

"By the way, where the hell did you run off to yesterday? I called and you didn't pick up."

"Uh, I was too tired from work, and my phone died—forgot to charge it."

Scratching his head, he made up a flimsy excuse.

"When will you grow up, you brat? Take care of yourself out there. Don't make me worry."

"Yes, yes, Dad's right. Anything else, old man?"

Dad, your son's busy here, alright? Stop rambling, will you?

No matter how busy, he had to hold it together in front of his parents...

"Heh heh, son, I've got good news for you. Guess what?"

Bai Jianjun suddenly sounded mysterious.

Bai Yang's eyes went wide. "Dad, don't tell me Mom's going to have a little brother or sister for me? That'd be awesome..."

"Get lost! Where's your head at? I'll tell you straight—your old man's struck it rich! Those logs I bought from you last time, I had the workers turn them into high-end solid wood furniture. Dozens of sets. Sold nine already—forty-eight million! Most of the rest are pre-ordered, just waiting for delivery and payment. Sigh... how are there so many rich people these days? Your dad's crappy little factory really can't keep up!"

Bai Yang's forehead was covered in black lines. So Dad was just here to show off?

"First, congrats on the fortune, Dad. Then I want to ask—can I just laze around and be a parasite from now on?"

"Ha, you wish! Don't give me that useless talk. I just want to know—does your company still have that kind of timber?"

Bai Jianjun asked without any shame. Why be polite to his own son?

Bai Yang knew his dad had gotten a taste of the good stuff. Scratching his head, he said, "Not right now, but if you want, I can ask the company to order more. You'll have to wait a while, though. I'll call you when it's ready?"

"That'd be great, but the payment..."

"Same as last time!"

Bai Yang said it firmly.

Dad, it's only because I'm your son that I'd pull off such a stupid deal. But hey, you're my dad...

"Kid, won't that be a problem?"

"If you're worried, I'll set up a dinner with the boss when he's free sometime."

Bai Yang hurriedly made up a story. His dad wasn't stupid—he knew what was up, he just hinted at it subtly now.

He'd have to find time later to hire some guys to play the boss and fool his dad. One lie needed a dozen more to cover it up. Exhausting...

"Alright then, I'll get back to work..."

After hanging up, Bai Yang scratched his head again. Was making furniture really that profitable? A few sets could sell for tens of millions?

But he kind of understood rich people's mindset—buy expensive, buy good, money's no object. He basically did the same...

Business first, everything else aside. He dialed Xiong Da's number:

"Hey, Boss Xiong, you looking for me?"

Might as well strike first, heh heh...

"Aiyo, it's Boss Bai, you're such a busy man... Well, I've got nothing going on, so I was wondering if you had time to meet up for a bit..."

Hah, like I'd believe that. That bastard's definitely struck out on deals and wants to mooch off me, but that works in my favor!

"What a coincidence, I've got time right now. How about we hit up the Royal Banquet like last time?"

Of course it's a coincidence, I was looking for you...

On the other end, Xiong Da's voice wavered as he said awkwardly, "Boss Bai, how about a farmhouse restaurant in the suburbs? Quiet, and the food's pretty good."

"Fine, name the place, and I'll head over right away..."

Inside the Giant Bear Metal Processing Plant, Xiong Da put down the phone in a daze, feeling like Bai Yang was being a bit too easygoing.

But facing the eager stares all around him, he clenched his fist, bones cracking, and said fiercely, "Brothers, I've got Boss Bai to come out. Whether we can snag an order from him is up to you now!"

"Brother Xiong, just watch. We'll drink till we puke if we have to, but we're getting that order from Boss Bai!"

A bunch of muscle-bound men roared like they were charging into death.

"Load up the van, let's move!"

Xiong Da waved his hand like a general commanding a vast army!

Bai Yang hung up the phone, speechless. Could you be any stingier? You made at least a few million off me last time, and a meal at a decent place would bankrupt you?

He set the navigation to the address Xiong Da had given, closed the door, and roared off in his flashy Bugatti.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the destination—a small farmhouse nestled by the mountains and water. The setting was genuinely nice.

Ignoring the onlookers gawking at the luxury car, he spotted Xiong Da and his crew standing at the farmhouse entrance like a bunch of mobsters. He got out, shut the door, and walked over.

"Boss Bai, sorry for the poor hospitality, please forgive us. Come on in, we've already ordered. You're used to rich food, so we got some light stuff to balance it out."

The burly Xiong Da trying to be polite was just awkward to watch, and Bai Yang got goosebumps all over.

"Hah, there's something up. Let's see what you guys are playing at!"

Bai Yang was sharp. He could tell from their setup that they had an agenda, but he wasn't worried about any dirty tricks. He'd seen it all, and worst case, he could just vanish into thin air—scared yet?

They entered the reserved private room, and a stream of light dishes came out one after another.

Bai Yang was stunned. This was seriously light—he hadn't seen a single piece of meat. What were these guys up to?

"Boss, bring us a few cases of beer!"

Xiong Da stood up and shouted, acting all hearty but wincing inside...

"Hold on, I'm driving, no drinking."

Bai Yang quickly stopped him. Something was obviously fishy!

"Uh, then Boss Bai, have some tea. We'll drink beer."

Xiong Da said awkwardly, then signaled the waiter for a pot of tea.

Could you be any more obvious? Bai Yang was speechless.

He tapped the table and laughed, "Alright, cut the act. You're tired of performing, and I'm tired of watching. Spit it out."

Xiong Da gave an awkward smile, then nodded to two big guys in camo. They got up, left the room, and closed the door.

Bai Yang vaguely heard them shooing away the waitstaff...

Like he had hemorrhoids, Xiong Da sat down, the chair creaking under him, and looked at Bai Yang sheepishly. "We're short on cash. We need money..."

"And then?"

Bai Yang nodded, understanding. I'm short on cash too. Who isn't? Ask Bill Gates if he's short.

At the same time, he wondered, what's this? A pillow when you're sleepy?

But then he thought again, no. "You kidding me? You made at least a few million off that last order, right? And you're telling me you're short on cash?"

"Because of some stuff, that money's nowhere near enough, so..."

Xiong Da scratched his head with a bitter smile, nearly tearing his scalp off.

"Alright, and then?"

Bai Yang blinked.

"Here's the thing. We were wondering if Boss Bai has anything else we can help with."

Xiong Da said, his face reddening. For a tough, imposing guy like him to swallow his pride and beg for business was really hard.

"So you're not asking me for a loan?"

"Uh, no. Just hoping to work with Boss Bai again..."

As he said this, Xiong Da glanced at a buddy beside him.

That buddy looked like he was about to cry. Boss, he's being so easygoing, and you're making it complicated!

"I think, why don't you just sell me the factory?"

Bai Yang rubbed his chin and looked at Xiong Da.

"What?"

Xiong Da didn't catch on for a moment...

(Please support with recommendation tickets and bookmarks.)