Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years: Yes, Yes, My Brother-in-Law Is Right!

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, produced exclusively by Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and narrated by Wang Xiaomo and Lao He.

Wu Chen sounded perfectly serious. He might have taken Li Ruobing's money to help Li Ruotai, but as the man's brother-in-law, he ought to show a little authority.

There was a long road ahead. He had to think about the future.

"What are you doing? He's my brother, which makes him your brother too. We're family. I've already slapped him. If you have a way to help, just say it."

Li Ruobing gave Wu Chen's shoulder a gentle push.

She even sounded as though she were coaxing him. That part was an act, but her concern for her brother was real. The authorities already had a great deal of evidence, and she couldn't think of a way to save him.

"He never treated me like his brother-in-law."

Wu Chen glanced at Li Ruobing.

"Don't be like that."

Li Ruobing pleaded, then pinched Wu Chen where Li Ruotai couldn't see.

The pinch was a warning. She had paid him, after all—though only for information, not for solving the problem.

"Brother-in-law, what are you talking about?"

"You're my brother-in-law."

Li Ruotai suddenly smiled with an air of complete sincerity.

He stood, offered Wu Chen a cigarette, and said with a broad smile, "I was wrong just now. Please don't hold it against me. I was only worried my sister might be fooled by some punk."

"Not that I mean you, of course. You're capable, and you and my sister make a fine match." Li Ruotai knew when to swallow his pride. He was a capable man; apart from having gone too far, the chief reason he was in trouble this time was that someone had betrayed him.

Wu Chen studied Li Ruotai, who was bent forward offering him the cigarette. He smiled and took it, then set it on the table.

He didn't smoke. Taking the cigarette was simply a way to let Li Ruotai save face and to accept his apology.

"Smoke less. Those things will kill you one day, and no amount of money will save you."

"How many times have I told you?"

Li Ruobing scolded Li Ruotai, and he didn't dare argue.

"First, you need to kill Xie Hu. He knows about the business between you two."

"Once he's dead, the trail to you is gone."

Wu Chen got straight to the point.

Li Ruotai, who had only just sat down, froze. Xie Hu was a member of the Xie Family, though only from a collateral branch.

In front of Li Ruotai, Xie Hu was all deference, forever calling him "brother" and trying to please him.

Still, he belonged to the Xie Family. If he suddenly died... "Damn it. He dared set me up?"

Li Ruotai slapped his thigh, his face turning fierce.

He had thought it through. Compared with the consequences of killing Xie Hu, escaping this crisis mattered more.

"You know Xie Hu uses drugs, right?" Wu Chen asked.

Li Ruotai nodded. He knew. Drugs were strictly forbidden in prominent families, and he had never touched them himself, but he knew Xie Hu had been using them for years. Xie Hu had a mistress living in Villa No. 17 at Qingshui Hetang Manor and often went there to get high with her.

"Send someone to take care of it. He'll die of an overdose, right?" Wu Chen said.

Li Ruotai's eyes slowly widened. Then he smiled.

"Yes, yes, my brother-in-law is right. A murder is usually made to look like an accident, but if the accident is too suspicious, people investigate. That's when trouble starts."

But if Xie Hu truly appeared to have killed himself with an injection, the Xie Family would likely want to keep the disgrace quiet, not investigate it.

"Second, all the evidence has been gathered in one person's hands. Get it out and destroy it, and you'll be safe," Wu Chen said.

"Biao Bo?" Li Ruotai asked.

"Yes. He was transferred here specifically to catch you. He has the collected evidence."

"Fine. I'll take care of him."

Li Ruotai gritted his teeth, but Wu Chen cut him off. "Like hell you will. He's the deputy bureau chief. Do you want to make this even bigger?"

"I'm warning you: don't touch anyone working on the case."

"Then... then what do I do?"

"Steal it! Steal it!"

Li Ruotai was baffled. How was he supposed to steal it without touching anyone?

He didn't even know where the evidence was. Even if he investigated, he might run out of time.

"In the master bedroom of Unit 3, No. 2 Lane, Liuchu Street, Room 501, there's a concealed safe beneath the wardrobe. The combination is 571564. The evidence is inside. The case against you is top secret, so there's only one copy to prevent leaks. Send someone to take it and destroy it."

Li Ruotai was stunned again.

Even Li Ruobing shot Wu Chen a sidelong look, her expression uneasy. He had given such precise details that he even knew the safe's combination.

"Third," Wu Chen continued, "Crown Entertainment Club needs to suspend business as soon as possible. You can't reopen until this has completely blown over."

"That's easy. I can close it today," Li Ruotai said.

"You can't simply shut the doors. That would raise suspicions."

Wu Chen went on, "I'll explain exactly how later. Fourth, you need to tell your grandfather everything, especially your business with Xie Hu. Make sure he understands it."

Li Ruotai's face changed completely. He looked deeply reluctant.

"That... isn't a good idea, is it? You know my grandfather's temper..." He was afraid his grandfather would break his legs.

"The Wei Family is behind this. Your Li Family isn't much weaker than they are, but you handed them an opportunity. They're taking advantage of it to strike at your family. Your grandfather has to know. Understand?"

"The Wei Family..." Li Ruotai murmured.

Relationships between prominent families were generally decent. They fought in private, but on the surface, they kept things cordial.

The Li Family and the Wei Family were the exception. They had been enemies for years and had once fought an all-out battle that sent quite a few members of both families to prison. The fighting stopped only after both family patriarchs retired from their high-ranking positions.

Even in recent years, the two families still clashed from time to time, with the Wei Family holding the upper hand. That was why the Li Family patriarch insisted Li Ruobing marry Ding Ruilong: an alliance with the Ding Family would let them stand together against the Wei Family.

"I understand. I'll tell my grandfather."

Li Ruotai nodded. This involved a struggle between two powerful families, so the problem couldn't be that simple. Even after the greatest danger passed, plenty of smaller troubles would remain. His grandfather needed to know before the Li Family could deal with them quickly.

"Don't mention me," Wu Chen said.

"Huh?"

Li Ruotai seemed not to have heard. "When you report to your grandfather, don't mention me," Wu Chen repeated, taking Li Ruobing's hand beside him.

"It's enough that you know about Ruobing and me. Your grandfather insists she marry a man from the Ding Family. If he learns I exist, it won't do either of us any good."

"All right. I won't tell him," Li Ruotai said at once.

"I'll say I found it all out myself."

Wu Chen nodded. "Brother-in-law, about closing the club..." Li Ruotai asked again, looking eager for advice.

"That depends on what you're willing to sacrifice."

"Anything," Li Ruotai said. "I'd tear this whole place down if I had to."

"Then you should—" Wu Chen had barely begun when Li Ruotai's phone rang. He frowned. Everyone around him knew not to interrupt when his sister visited.

He checked the screen and rejected the call, then smiled at Wu Chen. "Brother-in-law, please go on—" The phone rang again. "What is it now?"

Li Ruotai answered and immediately started cursing.

The caller was one of his trusted subordinates. He forced himself to make his report.

The anger drained from Li Ruotai's face, replaced little by little with shock. His eyes went wide. "Something serious happened? How much did he win?"

"Two hundred million?"

"All right. I'll be there."

Li Ruotai hung up and turned to Wu Chen and Li Ruobing. "Sis, Brother-in-law, wait for me a moment. Something's happened at the casino. I need to take a look."

He hurried toward the door. "It's Mr. Shen from Fusheng Properties," Wu Chen said from his seat.

Li Ruotai stopped and turned back, stunned. Wu Chen was right. How did he know that too? "Let's go. We'll take a look together."

Wu Chen rose to his feet.

He straightened his clothes and slipped one hand into his pocket.

Li Ruobing stood, adjusted Wu Chen's collar, and then took his arm.

Li Ruotai saw it all. By now, he had no doubt that Wu Chen was the man his sister had chosen. There wasn't a trace of pretense in it.

They headed out, followed by more than a dozen bodyguards, and made their way to the elevators.

Crown Entertainment Club in East Sea might not have been the largest establishment in eastern China, but it was certainly the most upscale.

The building had eleven floors—not especially tall, but its enormous footprint made every floor vast.

The first floor held the largest bar and karaoke venue in East Sea. Floors two through seven were the sauna and bathhouse; the eighth was for staff; the ninth and tenth housed the casino and its luxury suites. The eleventh and top floor was the club's core area.

Crown Entertainment Club's main business was its sauna, bathhouse, and massage services—and not the legitimate kind.

Apart from its other employees, the club had a thousand female attendants alone. Counting only rooms for guests, including the casino suites, it had more than 1,200 rooms.

By Wu Chen's exacting standards, the attendants' average looks would probably score 7.5 out of 10—an astonishingly high standard overall. Apart from a few natural beauties, though, the great majority had undergone cosmetic surgery.

In truth, the sauna and bathhouse were only Crown Entertainment Club's business on the surface. Its real main attraction was the casino on the ninth and tenth floors.

The casino served regulars, maintained strict secrecy, and found new customers through introductions from friends.

The group entered an elevator. Only after a bodyguard swiped a card could he press the button for the casino floor.

"Brother-in-law, how did you know it was Mr. Shen from Fusheng Properties?" Li Ruotai finally asked.

"He arrived in East Sea yesterday. He even brought in a gambling expert from Ao City to win back what he lost," Wu Chen said, glancing at Li Ruotai.

"You arranged for someone to take three hundred million from him. That's where your trouble began. His father-in-law has close ties to the Wei Family."

The reason Li Ruotai was being targeted had nothing to do with Crown Entertainment Club being too conspicuous. Nor was it because he had secretly filmed certain important guests there, or because he had threatened people.

It had begun in the casino.

Li Ruotai's business with Xie Hu was simple enough. Xie Hu was good at making connections and used his contacts to bring wealthy people to Crown Entertainment Club to gamble. Li Ruotai arranged for them to win at first and lose later, until they had lost an astronomical sum. No sophisticated cheating methods were needed.

Li Ruotai had paid handsomely for gambling experts. The wealthy guests were businesspeople, not skilled gamblers. They relied on luck, so his people could let them win or make them lose at will.

So far, at least ten wealthy businessmen had each lost more than a hundred million at Crown Entertainment Club. Many more had lost tens of millions.

Li Ruotai knew when to stop, though. He never intended to strip a wealthy guest of his entire fortune. He wouldn't make enemies that way.

Some guests, however, refused to listen when warned. Their gambling urges were too strong.

Shen Guangjun, the owner of Fusheng Properties, was one of them. After losing two hundred million at Crown Entertainment Club, he insisted on gambling despite the warnings and lost another hundred million. He stopped only because his accounts were empty.

Li Ruotai didn't allow guests to gamble on credit.

Fusheng Properties was worth several billion, but market value and cash flow were two different things.

Shen Guangjun had lost nearly all the company's available cash at Crown Entertainment Club. With nothing left in its accounts, Fusheng Properties ran into immediate operating difficulties.

After losing, Shen Guangjun didn't dare confront Li Ruotai. He couldn't afford to offend the Li Family, so he tried to raise money wherever he could.

While seeking funds, he told some people how much he had lost gambling. He discovered that he wasn't the only one to lose so much at Crown Entertainment Club. Word also reached the Wei Family.

At first, the Wei Family assumed Li Ruotai was simply fleecing wealthy guests. But even a cursory investigation revealed much bigger problems at Crown Entertainment Club. Taking money from rich men was the least of them.

Li Ruotai was clever. He avoided truly top-tier tycoons, preying instead on people with money and influence who weren't at the very top—nouveau riche businessmen, in other words. He knew better than to provoke the truly powerful.

The major problem the Wei Family uncovered lay in the sauna and massage business. Li Ruotai secretly filmed important figures with attendants in their rooms, gaining leverage over them. Used well, that leverage could make those people protect Crown Entertainment Club or even help the Li Family. Used badly, it would make enemies of far more than one or two people.

The Wei Family saw an opportunity: they could unite multiple factions, send Li Ruotai straight to prison, and perhaps even throw the entire Li Family into turmoil.

So the Wei Family began moving in secret, contacting many people, including powerful figures Li Ruotai had threatened.

Wu Chen had investigated Li Ruobing and Li Ruotai in extraordinary detail, so he knew all this. He knew even more about what happened in East Sea on July 7.

Shen Guangjun had been in East Sea since yesterday and had brought in a gambling expert. Wu Chen knew he was likely to return to Crown Entertainment Club within days to win back his money.

That was why, when Li Ruotai finished his call in the room, Wu Chen realized Shen Guangjun must have arrived with his expert.

Under normal circumstances, Shen Guangjun wouldn't have dared bring a gambling expert to Crown Entertainment Club. It amounted to a direct challenge, and he feared Li Ruotai. Now, though, he clearly no longer cared about retaliation. He knew what was happening and that Li Ruotai had only a few days left. Most likely, Shen Guangjun wanted to recover his losses—and win more—before the club came under investigation.

Ding. The elevator opened onto the casino floor. The place was lavishly decorated, with gambling tables everywhere, but few guests were present. It was still morning, and Crown Entertainment Club normally operated at night.

The casino was an exception. Regulars could come up in the VIP elevator. Some guests were already staying there and came down to play cards early; others had gambled through the night and still hadn't left.

When Li Ruotai appeared, a stout middle-aged man in a black suit hurried over, mopping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Boss, you're here. They're in the Supreme Nine-Five private room."

After his hurried report, he nodded to Li Ruobing and greeted her as "Miss Li."

He was Bao Wei, the casino manager, a trusted subordinate of Li Ruotai's and a longtime retainer of the Li Family.

Bao Wei had barely greeted Li Ruobing when he noticed she was holding a man's arm. Startled, he realized he didn't know the man and had no idea how to address him.

The group headed farther in. Bao Wei rushed ahead to lead them to the private room. A bodyguard opened the door, and Li Ruotai entered first. His hearty laughter immediately rang out from inside.

"Hahaha! Mr. Shen, it's been months! You're looking well today."

Wu Chen and Li Ruobing entered to find Li Ruotai shaking hands with a balding middle-aged man. It was Shen Guangjun.

"You're as full of life as ever, Young Master Li!" Shen Guangjun shook his hand with a smile that never reached his eyes. In the past, he would never have dared take that tone with Li Ruotai.

Wu Chen glanced at them, then turned his attention to the gambling table.

Two men were playing. On the left, behind a mountain of chips, sat a mild-looking middle-aged man in glasses. He was the gambling expert Shen Guangjun had brought from Ao City.

On the right sat a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and only a few million in chips left. He was Crown Entertainment Club's best gambling expert.

It appeared every expert at Crown Entertainment Club had taken a turn. Even their strongest player was at the table now, and he was still losing.

The hooked-nosed man examined his cards, sweat beading across his face.

He was under too much pressure. He had lost big this time.

After looking at his cards, Brother Ying muttered, "Damn," then turned them facedown and got up.

Wu Chen took one glance at the situation, walked straight over, and stood up. "I'll do it, you sneaky bastard!"

Brother Ying looked up, startled. He didn't know Wu Chen, but he recognized him.

Li Ruobing, who had followed him over, also rose to make room, though she glanced at Li Ruotai with a troubled look.

Li Ruotai was exchanging insincere pleasantries with Shen Guangjun. When he noticed what was happening, he froze. What was going on?

His brother-in-law knew how to gamble?

He shot his older sister a questioning look.

Li Ruobing shook her head slightly. She had no idea whether Wu Chen knew how to gamble, and she had a bad feeling about this.

"Oh, another switch?"

"Why bring in someone else?"

Young Shen Guanglin saw it and grinned. "Young Master Li, you're being too generous! You've already lost over two hundred million to me today, and now you're sending me more money on purpose. That won't do!"

"Hahaha!" His words sounded like a joke, but the mockery behind them was unmistakable.

Li Ruotai had no one left.

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