Chapter Ninety-Nine: Foresight and Prophecy

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“Hmm, thank you for taking care of Xiwen!” Yang Wei responded. “Xiwen, you got hospitalized and didn’t even tell us. I just got a call from Chen Lu and only then found out you’re here. That bastard Zhang Fang stirred up trouble again—he’s bound to get what’s coming to him sooner or later!”

After saying that, Yang Wei immediately sensed something was off and quickly looked at Sulai. “Sorry, our brothers speak frankly sometimes. Don’t get the wrong idea—Jiang Xiwen is a good student; he’s not one of us…”

Sulai didn’t think anything was wrong with Yang Wei and his friends. Seeing him so flustered, she found him rather endearing. Chen Lu’s protective stance toward her and Zhang Ya today made her feel that Yang Wei and the others were good people who valued friendship.

Her eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled. “It’s nothing. Whether he’s a good student or not doesn’t really matter. A good friend is a good friend…”

For a girl of fifteen or sixteen to say something like that warmed Yang Wei and Hu Pao’s hearts, giving them an unspoken sense of camaraderie.

This was the Sulai that Jiang Xiwen knew—bright and sunny, never looking down on anyone, even more easygoing about some things than many boys. Only just now, when he hurriedly explained she wasn’t his girlfriend, did the shy, innocent daughter-like side of him show through.

Hu Pao, quick to speak, immediately chuckled. “I told you, Xiwen’s friends aren’t ordinary people. Not only are you beautiful, but you’re not like some girls who seem to expect everyone to take advantage of them and don’t give others the time of day. You study at No. 3 Middle School, right? If anyone dares to bully you, just come find me…”

Jiang Xiwen couldn’t help but laugh to himself when he heard Hu Pao. Clearly, this guy had endured countless eye-rolls from beautiful girls.

Smack! Hu Pao paid the price for his words with a slap from Yang Wei. “She’s a perfectly good middle school student. Who would bully her? Besides, with Xiwen protecting her, why would anyone come to you?”

“I’m not saying anymore, Brother Wei…” Hu Pao made a miserable face.

Sulai, seeing this, let out a quiet laugh. “You two are so funny, really amusing.”

Hu Pao gave an awkward smile, while Yang Wei regretted his earlier roughness when mentioning Zhang Fang and immediately tried to act more refined. “Xiwen, you haven’t introduced us to such a beautiful girl yet.”

Sulai was quick-witted. Although they had only just met, she had already noticed how much Yang Wei cared about his image, but it was a kind of endearing concern. So she replied, “My name is Sulai.”

Yang Wei quickly put on a self-assured, refined smile. “Sulai, tomorrow my friend Luo Xiaoyin will be performing new songs with his band at the Qinyuan Bar at seven in the evening. We and Xiwen are all going; you should come listen too.”

From the moment she entered the hospital room, Sulai’s porcelain-like face had caught his eye. Plus, her personality was different from most girls, which made him feel that this girl and someone as impressive as Jiang Xiwen would be a perfect match. He sensed that Jiang Xiwen seemed a bit shy around her. After all, he was still a kid, so Yang Wei was determined to help.

“Yang Wei, has Xiaoyin finished composing?” Jiang Xiwen’s interest was piqued by Yang Wei’s invitation. He, who had been silent, immediately joined the conversation. Now that Zhang Ya had been found, he no longer worried and was eager to hear the live jam session of the new song—it would definitely be a treat.

“Yeah, he asked me to invite you to come tomorrow. How’s your health?”

“Nothing serious, just a bit tired. A good long sleep and I’ll be fine,” Jiang Xiwen replied excitedly, almost talking to himself. “I’ll definitely go tomorrow. Luo Xiaoyin—the number one figure in Chinese game music, of course…”

“Number one figure?” Yang Wei asked curiously.

“Uh, nothing…” Jiang Xiwen quickly changed the subject and turned to Sulai. “Sulai, will you come with us?”

Sulai hadn’t answered before Jiang Xiwen interrupted. She really wanted to go to Qinyuan Bar to listen to music. Although her mother had told her that bars weren’t places for girls her age, she instinctively wanted to spend more time with Jiang Xiwen. Yet Jiang Xiwen’s interruption made it seem like he didn’t care much whether she came or not. Though she knew he was unconscious of this, she still felt a slight disappointment.

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But as soon as she felt this disappointment, a strange thought crossed her mind—why did she always find herself unconsciously caring for Jiang Xiwen? Was it because he risked his life jumping into the lake to save her? Sigh, why dwell on that…

Sulai quickly stopped her wandering thoughts. She had never had these kinds of troubles before.

Now, hearing Jiang Xiwen invite her again, she brightened right up but decided to play a little trick on him since he seemed to be neglecting her.

She deliberately said, “Tomorrow? We’ll see how it goes…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Xiwen suddenly stood up, placed one hand on his chest, and bowed slightly. “Beautiful classmate Sulai, I formally invite you to come to Qinyuan Bar tomorrow to enjoy the performance by Luo Xiaoyin’s band with me.”

Sulai laughed at his serious expression. “Middle schoolers going to a bar isn’t really good, but if it’s with you all, I might consider it…” She then said goodbye to everyone, picked up her thermos, and left the ward.

“Uh…” Jiang Xiwen was a little stunned. After Sulai left, he realized the beautiful girl had been joking with him. His usually sharp mind was sometimes hit or miss when facing Sulai.

Outside the hospital, Sulai’s face kept lighting up with smiles. Thinking about Jiang Xiwen’s tongue-tied expression when his eloquence failed him earlier was quite amusing.

As soon as Sulai walked away, Yang Wei patted Jiang Xiwen’s shoulder. “Xiwen, you’re something else. Having such a beautiful girl bring you food—better hold on tight. She looks pretty good!”

“And the girl you were so anxious to find these past couple of days… uh, that girl, Chen Lu said she was really beautiful too…” Hu Pao spoke, then realized he’d said too much and instinctively ducked his head, expecting a slap from Yang Wei. Surprisingly, Yang Wei didn’t reach out. Just as he was feeling smug, smack! He still got one.

“Watch your language, Hu Pao!”

Meeting these two, Jiang Xiwen was speechless. Hu Pao was clever but spoke too quickly. Yang Wei was loyal but liked to act refined in public. Together, they were quite a comedic pair.

Before Hu Pao could reply, Yang Wei said, “Xiaomao. Don’t you have some opinions about the KTV design? Hurry up and discuss them with Xiwen.”

“Xiaomao?” Jiang Xiwen asked.

“That’s his nickname. Once I call him that, this guy instantly perks up,” Yang Wei laughed.

Hearing that, Hu Pao suddenly became full of energy. Of course, it wasn’t the nickname that energized him but because he was about to voice his ideas about the KTV design.

Hu Pao pulled a small notebook from his pocket. “Xiwen, look, I think what you said last time was off. You mentioned a 200-square-meter place divided into twenty ten-square-meter rooms. That means no hallways, no lobby, no restrooms, right?”

“Oh?” Jiang Xiwen suddenly realized. Last time, he had just spoken offhandedly, distracted by the hunt for Zhang Ya. He laughed. “Hu Pao, seems like the more you get knocked around, the smarter you get…”

Before he finished, Yang Wei was about to slap Hu Pao again. “Xiwen, you said that!”

This time Hu Pao seemed prepared; he ducked just in time with a sour face. “Brother Wei, I figured out the mistakes after you told me to hold back on beating me. So fewer hits are better. But these were just slips of the tongue; the main points come next.”

“Cut the crap and get to the point,” Yang Wei scolded with a laugh. Then he turned to Jiang Xiwen. “This guy gets all breathless just because he got some praise. I spent half the afternoon asking him, but he insisted on waiting to see you before sharing his ideas. I thought, this brat can’t come up with anything worth a damn…”

“Brother Wei, a great leader listens to all opinions and discerns right from wrong—that’s the way to succeed,” Jiang Xiwen said with a mock profundity, nodding his head.

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“Xiwen’s right…” Hu Pao clearly understood the meaning behind those words. He winked at Yang Wei triumphantly and quickly shared his ideas before Yang Wei could slap him again.

Jiang Xiwen was impressed. It seemed he could trust Hu Pao more when cooperating to run the KTV.

Hu Pao’s ideas mirrored Jiang Xiwen’s almost exactly. The difference was Jiang Xiwen’s foresight came from rebirth, while Hu Pao’s came from future insight.

Most impressively, Hu Pao suggested setting up a small market inside the KTV where customers could pick items themselves and bring them into private rooms.

This was exactly the model that would become widespread in China’s KTVs in the coming years. In this era, such markets were rare nationwide. Jiang Xiwen wondered how Hu Pao even knew about it.

Following Hu Pao’s lead, Jiang Xiwen detailed his memory of KTV business concepts, mentioning future integrated systems for song selection, cashiering, market, manager queries, and arrangement services. But neither Yang Wei nor Hu Pao, unfamiliar with computers, fully understood.

Yang Wei dismissed it after hearing it, but Hu Pao diligently took notes in his notebook.

Jiang Xiwen quietly observed their reactions. Growing curious about Hu Pao, he called Yang Wei aside before they left to ask about him.

Hu Pao was born not knowing his father. His mother raised him with great hardship, enduring countless discriminations. In such an environment, Hu Pao dropped out early. Although his mother was angry at his lack of ambition, she had little choice. Hu Pao was filial, always sending money home when he could. He was timid and mostly did petty theft, never serious crime.

After meeting Yang Wei, who found him resourceful, Hu Pao was recruited as a subordinate. Up to now, he still couldn’t quite shake his petty stealing habits and was even caught and jailed earlier this year.

Jiang Xiwen had wanted to speak privately with Hu Pao but knew Yang Wei was proud and might resent it, so he spoke through Yang Wei instead.

Yang Wei’s greatest strength was loyalty, but his biggest flaw was his sensitivity to face. Even in front of Jiang Xiwen, whom he admired deeply, he was competitive and somewhat self-righteous despite polite words.

From Hu Pao’s earlier words, Jiang Xiwen realized that with proper guidance, Hu Pao’s business acumen could lead to far greater achievements than Yang Wei’s.

Of course, Yang Wei was indispensable to running the KTV. He had broad connections in the underworld, and this entertainment venue would be unique in the entire city—bound to attract jealousy. Openly, they’d collect protection fees and report to the police; covertly, rivals might send fake customers to cause trouble. Managing these relations was vital and only Yang Wei could handle it properly. This allowed Jiang Xiwen to rest easy.

“Yang Wei, I’m heading back to Yangjiang the day after tomorrow. Leave me your number so I can contact you. You’ll handle site selection and operations. I’ll transfer the money within a few days. Once we officially open, we’ll share profits. If you’re short on funds, you don’t have to invest. I’ll give you a 30% stake.”

Yang Wei hadn’t expected Jiang Xiwen to be so straightforward—handing over a large sum without even drawing up a contract. He immediately said, “Xiwen, though I promised to call you big brother, I’m much older. I have to remind you: what we have is just a verbal agreement. If it were a small amount, relying on brotherly trust might be fine, but this is a big deal. We must have a contract. If you just give money like this, I can’t guarantee that when greed kicks in, I won’t deny everything. You’d be helpless.”

Yang Wei patted Jiang Xiwen’s shoulder. “I don’t know your family background or how much this money means to you, but I have to warn you.

Brotherhood is about trust—that’s the rule I, Yang Wei, live by in this world. But business requires caution.

You’re still young; don’t blame me for being old-fashioned. In business, many betray brothers for profit. My uncle and dad started together—they were like real brothers, sharing hardships and caring for each other.

But later, when money came, my uncle cheated my dad. After that, my dad got sick with anger and never recovered.” Yang Wei bit his lip, clearly pained, paused a few seconds, wiped his face, then continued, “So, I must make you understand—even if we get along, we’ve only known each other two days. You shouldn’t trust me so easily. What you call trust is really foolishness.” Yang Wei’s voice was a bit emotional.