About Time

Time passed quickly.

After she and Liang Zhengxian had finished fooling around, Wang Manni came back looking blissful and full of hope for the future.

Perhaps her only regret was that not all rich men were as good in bed as Wang Yan? She didn't dwell on it. She felt she'd finally gotten her hands on the thing she'd spent so many years pursuing, something that had always seemed just out of reach. Rich, handsome, single, and devoted only to her—Liang Zhengxian perfectly embodied her dream of a prince on a white horse.

Zhong Xiaoqin had had enough of a peaceful, ordinary life, too. She wanted a little excitement. She and Chen Yu smoothly got divorced, and she shared the good news with her besties. Her mother still didn't know, and was enthusiastically insisting on adding her name to the property deed.

Gu Jia habitually left her son with Wang Yan, saying she was going to a hot spring with her best friend.

The three sisters reunited and soaked comfortably in the hot spring. Wang Manni was surprised when she heard the news, but didn't say anything to comfort her. Gu Jia and Zhong Xiaoqin had been sisters for years, and hearing the news left them a little quiet. Maybe they felt sorry that their friend had reached thirty only for her marriage to fail?

Anyway, Gu Jia and Wang Manni simply said, "I'm happy for you," and left it at that. Maybe it was a special way of comforting her? Shock therapy? Who knew? The women seemed to be having a pretty good time regardless.

This time, Shen Jie had really taken Wang Yan's words to heart, and the factory didn't blow up. After hearing Wang Yan's warning, Shen Jie had gone to his family's fireworks factory the very next day. He'd conducted a thorough safety inspection and made the necessary changes.

Xu Huanshan was busy running between two places. He continued flirting with Lin Youyou on one hand, while taking care of the company's affairs on the other.

One day, at Gu Jia's dessert shop, the ladies were having a get-together when Mrs. Li mentioned that she wanted to sell a tea farm in Xiangxi. Gu Jia took note of it as soon as she heard. When she got home, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In the middle of the night, she got up to research whether buying the farm was viable.

The more she researched, the more excited she got. It felt like money was raining down from the sky, just waiting for her to bend down and pick it up. She called Xu Huanshan in the middle of the night and excitedly told him about it, hoping to get his opinion as well.

"Honey, guess what? Mrs. Li said today that there's a tea farm for sale. I looked into it, and the farm has all the necessary permits and is doing well."

"If we can take it over, it'll bring in at least a million yuan a year."

Xu Huanshan had always disliked Gu Jia socializing with the other wives, and he didn't care for them either. "Honey, are you sure? Don't let them cheat you."

Gu Jia had a very clear idea of how influential the women were. She thought they had no reason to bother with them and said, "Why would they cheat us? Do you know how powerful their families are? Let me tell you..." She went on and on, explaining the sort of influence Mrs. Li's family had, so Xu Huanshan would understand.

Xu Huanshan wasn't the one who made decisions at home anyway. He knew there was nothing he could do to change Gu Jia's mind, and she was only telling him out of courtesy. So he said, "Honey, if you want to do it, then go ahead. The tea farm's doing well, so it must cost quite a bit. Do we have enough money?"

"I'll look into it tomorrow. I'll find a way, so don't worry, honey."

They exchanged sweet nothings for a while, then hung up.

The next day, Gu Jia started adding up the family's assets.

She'd already contacted Mrs. Wang, who had named a price of three million yuan. No matter how she crunched the numbers, she was still short.

At that point, Gu Jia didn't think about paying in installments, as she had in the original story. She instinctively thought of Wang Yan. She knew he would help her. For some reason, she just had that feeling.

As she'd spent more time with Wang Yan, Gu Jia had come to trust him more and more. Without realizing it, she'd begun to rely on him. She no longer deliberately kept her distance from him. Apart from Xu Ziyan, she basically chatted with Wang Yan every day whenever she had a chance.

If she didn't talk with him one day, it always felt like something was missing, as if the day hadn't been complete.

The more they saw each other, the more she learned about him. She'd long since realized that what she'd found out about him at first was only the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes, when she was with Wang Yan, she'd overhear bits of his phone conversations. None of those matters involved less than a hundred million yuan. Even a hundred million seemed almost beneath him.

With business on that scale, it was only natural that he knew all sorts of people. Sometimes Gu Jia couldn't help thinking how laughable it was that, when they'd first met, she'd thought he was only a little better off than her family.

As for why she let him look after her son without feeling awkward about it—

First, Wang Yan had shown how much he liked Xu Ziyan.

Second, Gu Jia genuinely felt, without thinking about it, that there was nothing wrong with it. That was also because Wang Yan was so good at what he did. All that effort he'd put into winning her over hadn't gone to waste; he'd really fooled her.

To be honest, Old Wang was getting on in years, but he wasn't a lunatic, and he didn't have any unusual preferences. Just imagine spending the day fawning over a woman, then watching her enjoy a wonderful night with someone else. He wasn't the kind of man who liked seeing the woman he wanted getting intimate with another man, the more passionate they were, the more excited he felt.

If not for the mission, he would've caused trouble for Xu Huanshan as soon as he arrived, gotten him locked up for life or something. Even setting that aside, men had possessive instincts. That went double for someone like Wang Yan, who had once been the ruthless, bloodthirsty boss of a gang, a man who had acted like he owned the world.

Third, as mentioned before, Wang Yan had far too much free time. He hardly socialized and rarely went out to entertain clients. He spent his days like a retiree: drinking tea, reading, studying, and taking walks. And with the unconscious sense of reliance Gu Jia had developed, she even thought letting him look after Xu Ziyan and keeping him company would add some color to Wang Yan's life. She thought she was helping him.

That was exactly the effect Wang Yan wanted. By now, he'd basically won over both Gu Jia and her son.

That day, when Gu Jia went upstairs to pick up Xu Ziyan, she took the opportunity to bring it up with Wang Yan.

"Wang Yan, I'd like to borrow some money from you. Would that be all right?" Gu Jia was very direct and got right to the point.

Even close friends had to keep their accounts clear. Gu Jia added, "Oh, don't worry. I'll pay you back soon. I need two million, and I'll add one percent interest."

Wang Yan thought about it. He knew why she needed the money, but still asked, "Can I ask what you need the two million for?"

Gu Jia then rambled on about everything she'd learned over the past couple of days.

After listening, Wang Yan said, "The money's no problem. Actually, don't stop at two million. I'll give you three million. Forget the interest, and don't rush to pay me back. Just give it to me whenever you have it."

Wang Yan's straightforward answer made Gu Jia feel a little warm inside. Even though she'd expected it, she couldn't help getting excited. "Thank you, Wang Yan. You're really helping me out. Don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Come on, why are you being so formal with me?"

Even though it would benefit him more if Gu Jia got swindled, he still had to say what needed to be said. "I should remind you that business isn't child's play. You should think it over and look into it some more."

Gu Jia was already fixated on it. How could she take that in? "Oh, Wang Yan, I've looked into it thoroughly. Nothing will go wrong. Don't overthink it."

Seeing how she was, Wang Yan didn't say anything more. You could give someone good advice, but if they wouldn't listen, then so be it.

"Bye, Dad. See you tomorrow." Gu Jia left with Xu Ziyan, completely satisfied.

When she got home, Gu Jia contacted Mrs. Li to discuss the tea farm.

Mrs. Li didn't have much to say. If Gu Jia had the money, she could buy it. Who wasn't she going to swindle? And Gu Jia was just the sort of person who had no way to fight back and could only accept her fate.

They talked it over, and Mrs. Li suggested using Gu Jia's dessert shop to hold a charity auction. Gu Jia agreed without a second thought. They signed a contract on the spot, though the remaining formalities would take a few days.

With the big matter settled, Gu Jia was full of ambition, impatient to complete the handover so she could put her skills to use. She vowed to build a successful business, take her family to new heights, and climb into a higher social class as quickly as possible.

That night, Gu Jia told Xu Huanshan the news.

Xu Huanshan didn't say anything when he heard she'd borrowed three million from Wang Yan. He'd had more than one drink with Wang Yan already. Besides, although Gu Jia didn't talk about Wang Yan much at home, whenever Xu Huanshan brought him up, she always chimed in with a few words and let a fair amount slip. Xu Huanshan had some idea of Wang Yan's means.

As far as he was concerned, the two families were close, so there was nothing wrong with helping each other out. But he still had some concerns about their son. "Honey, you're already busy running the dessert shop. Now you've taken on a tea farm, too. What's going to happen to Ziyan?"

"Old Wang takes great care of him, but we can't keep imposing on him. If we're both this busy, how will we have time to give Ziyan the attention he needs?"

"I already don't spend enough time with him as his father. If you get busy too, how can we face him?"

Gu Jia didn't think much of Xu Huanshan's worries. "It's fine. Wang Yan doesn't have much to do. He wanders around all day, and Ziyan can keep him company."

Without realizing it, Gu Jia had come to feel no resistance at all toward Wang Yan. She didn't stand on ceremony with him, either.

"Lately, Wang Yan's been teaching Ziyan martial arts, calligraphy, and painting. He even takes him out for drives around the area when he has time."

"Before, he used to get sick every now and then, but look at him now. He's running around full of energy all day. The other day, I gave him a bath, and his body was getting a little firm. He's so healthy now."

"That's not all. Ziyan doesn't throw tantrums anymore, either. He's really well-behaved."

"Your son can read and fight. Don't you think he's made a lot of progress?"

Gu Jia thought it was only natural. "I'd been thinking about hiring a nanny, but Wang Yan's been taking such good care of Ziyan. We might as well let him keep helping out."

Hearing her say that, Xu Huanshan thought about how their son had changed lately. It was true. And since Gu Jia had been thinking of hiring a nanny, he'd much rather have Wang Yan look after him.

Still, there was something odd about how much Gu Jia trusted Wang Yan. But he didn't think too much of it. "All right, then. We'll do that. When I get back, I'll have a good drink with Old Wang. He lent us money and takes care of our son. I should thank him properly for helping us so much."

They chatted a little longer, then ended the call.

Two days later, Gu Jia sent Wang Yan a message early in the morning.

The day before, Xu Ziyan had come home and said there was going to be a performance at school. He wanted his parents to attend. But Gu Jia was busy organizing Mrs. Li's charity gala and had no time to go, so she could only tell Xu Ziyan to ask his dad. Xu Ziyan and Wang Yan got along extremely well, and he was more than happy to have Wang Yan attend instead. As far as he was concerned, his dad was much better than his real parents.

And thanks to Wang Yan's example and guidance, Xu Ziyan had become more sensible. He knew his parents were working hard to give him a better life, so he didn't make a fuss and agreed.

Gu Jia's message was to ask Wang Yan to take him to the performance. Xu Huanshan was also coming home that day and had invited Wang Yan to dinner that evening.

Wang Yan didn't refuse, of course. He agreed at once.

Xu Huanshan and Lin Youyou had already gotten involved, and Gu Jia was about to get busy with the tea farm. Wang Yan had done just about enough fawning. It was time for him to make his move. Watching without getting to touch was driving him crazy.

Most of the people attending the event were mothers. The men had to support their families, after all, so they didn't have much free time.

Wang Yan spent ages at the kindergarten making small talk with a group of women. It drove him up the wall.

He'd gone to pick Xu Ziyan up from school now and then for quite a while, so he'd met some of the other parents. It was impossible that they wouldn't gossip about Xu Ziyan's godfather showing up to pick him up all the time.

Gu Jia and the others didn't care. They knew what was going on. Who didn't enjoy a little gossip?

Xu Ziyan wasn't bothered, either. He was a child, after all, and didn't understand much. The other parents would sometimes gossip where their kids could hear, and those kids would turn around and make comments to Xu Ziyan. That was normal. But Wang Yan had toughened Xu Ziyan up, and he wasn't fragile.

He just told the other kids the truth about all the things Wang Yan did with him. The other kids might have come from well-off families and seen plenty, but none of them had had experiences as rich as Xu Ziyan's lately. After all, the children of elite families had elite educations, and their lives weren't exactly carefree. They were incredibly envious of the things Xu Ziyan told them about and wished they had such a great godfather, too. Xu Ziyan had become very popular among the kids. He was practically the kindergarten's top dog.

There was no need to mention Wang Yan. He'd never had good intentions in the first place, and he didn't care about the women's gossip.

Meanwhile, Gu Jia successfully held the charity gala. The ladies had shown off to their hearts' content, then happily went their separate ways.

That evening, Wang Yan had dinner with Gu Jia's family.

Xu Huanshan had been so thoroughly dazzled by Lin Youyou lately that he was brimming with energy. Perhaps he thought this was the most carefree, happiest time of his life.

As soon as he saw Wang Yan, he burst out laughing and gave him a hug. "Haha, Old Wang, you've really helped us out lately. Thanks."

Wang Yan waved his hand and pretended to be displeased. "Hey, don't say that again. What kind of relationship do we have? Why are you still being so formal with me? You've got to make it up to me with a drink. I'll hold it against you if you leave even a drop."

Gu Jia watched them with a smile and urged them to sit down and eat.

During the meal, she told Wang Yan that both she and Xu Huanshan would be busy from now on, and they trusted him to take care of Xu Ziyan. She asked him to continue helping them out.

Wang Yan agreed. He also said that he'd recently met a few new friends whose families owned businesses like shopping malls and amusement parks, and he could introduce them.

He received another round of thanks, and Xu Huanshan was only too happy to drink with him.

Watching Xu Huanshan in such high spirits, Wang Yan thought of him saying, "Go on without worry. I'll take care of your wife." Would Xu Huanshan be furious?

Wang Yan shook his head and thought no more of it. He kept plying him with drinks.

Thanks to our two big brothers What's the Situation Zhang Wei and Qian Zhiming for the monthly tickets.

And thanks again to all the big brothers who voted for the book.

Also, to all the big brothers who stop by to say a few words now and then.

And to all the big brothers who never say much and just read quietly—I don't even know how many of you there are. Thank you for your generous support.

At this moment, right here and now, your little brother would like to offer his heartfelt thanks and sincere blessings to all the big brothers.

I bow several times.

That's all.