City: I Started As A Rich Second Generation Villain - Chapter 10 – Layout for Success
After parting ways with Teacher Yu Miaojin, Gu Junqing instructed two of his subordinates to “invite” Liu Yang over. He hadn’t expected them to be so “rough” about it—seeing the carrot in his subordinate’s hand pressed against Liu Yang left him somewhat speechless.
Once Liu Yang entered the car and saw Gu Junqing alone inside, he grew wary.
“What do you want?”
Watching Liu Yang shrink back cautiously, Gu Junqing chuckled.
“Do you think I need to explain myself if I want to deal with you?”
Liu Yang thought for a moment and realized it was true—there was nothing about him worth coveting.
Seeing him relax slightly, Gu Junqing said, “I invited you here because I want to play a game with you. If you complete the task, this one million will be enough to cover your mother’s surgery expenses.”
With that, Gu Junqing took out a check for one million.
Liu Yang fell silent. Though he was usually greasy, unpleasant, and somewhat unattractive, he wasn’t a bad person at heart. He was even loyal, willing to go through fire and water for his friends. But right now, he desperately needed money. His mother’s illness couldn’t be delayed—she needed surgery and post-operative treatment as soon as possible, all of which required a large sum his bankrupt family could no longer afford.
Struggling internally as he stared at the check, Liu Yang finally said, “Tell me what you want me to do first. If it involves murder or arson, I’d rather not take the money.” He gritted his teeth and looked away from the check, afraid that if he kept staring, he might be tempted to sell his soul.
Gu Junqing looked at him in surprise. “If I wanted to commit murder or arson, would I need you?”
“It’s a simple task. I can even give you the check in advance. All you have to do is tell Lin Tian that you won one million in the lottery and flaunt it in front of him. If Lin Tian doesn’t ask to borrow money from you, your task is still considered complete, and the one million is yours. But if he does ask to borrow money, you must not lend him a single cent. If you lend him money or reveal our arrangement to him, congratulations—you fail the task.”
“And the consequences of failure… you don’t want to know, because you can’t bear them.” Gu Junqing spoke indifferently, like a deity looking down from on high, passing judgment on mortal fate. In front of others, he certainly knew how to maintain an imposing presence.
“Alright. It’s up to you to accept or not.” Having said this, Gu Junqing watched Liu Yang, waiting for his decision.
To his surprise, Liu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Wasn’t this basically free money? All he had to do was refuse to lend money to Lin Tian—it wasn’t as if Lin Tian would harm him over it. Little did he know, Gu Junqing never acted without certainty.
Under Gu Junqing’s deep, penetrating gaze, Liu Yang timidly took the one-million check.
“Alright, you may go.”
Liu Yang obediently got out of the car. Seeing the two burly men still guarding the vehicle, he cautiously walked past them. But when he noticed they were holding carrots, he grew angry. Lifting his head, he was about to confront them when he suddenly saw one of the men, Baldy, inadvertently lift his suit jacket, revealing a gun tucked into his waistband.
Liu Yang froze in terror, not daring to move a muscle. Trembling, he shuffled away, his legs still weak as he left.
After Liu Yang departed, another man in black asked Baldy, “Boss, why did you bring that out? Didn’t the young master forbid us from carrying those?”
Baldy laughed heartily. “Just wanted to scare that kid again so he wouldn’t look down on people. This is a fake pistol I bought from the convenience store earlier—it can barely even squirt water.”
Immediately, the two men burst into laughter.
The two burly men laughed with their arms around each other’s shoulders, a scene that was somewhat absurd. In any case, Gu Junqing felt a headache coming on. His face darkened instantly.
“Enough! Both of you, get lost!”
The two men immediately stood straight as pines and moved as swiftly as the wind, scurrying away when they noticed Luo Ningyu—the ambiguous young woman their master had recently taken interest in—approaching.
As soon as Luo Ningyu arrived, Gu Junqing pulled her into the car and drew her into his embrace.
Gu Junqing smirked mischievously. “My little brother and I have been waiting for you for a long time, little Ningyu.”
Luo Ningyu wanted to break free but couldn’t bring herself to leave his embrace. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and asked curiously, “Huh? Your little brother is here too? Where is he?”
After saying this, she even glanced around the car but found no one. Puzzled, she looked back at Gu Junqing.
Seeing Luo Ningyu’s pure, inquisitive gaze fixed on him, Gu Junqing took a sharp breath, trying to suppress the rising excitement of his “little brother,” who seemed intent on dominating his thoughts and reducing him to a creature driven by primal instincts.
But clearly…
Gu Junqing couldn’t hold back.
He instantly transformed into a big bad wolf and pounced on Luo Ningyu. “Come here, little Ningyu. Let me introduce you to my ‘little brother.’”
…………
Meanwhile, Liu Yang kept his hand in his pocket, tightly clutching the million-yuan check. He didn’t dare loosen his grip, afraid he might somehow lose it.
His legs were still weak from fear, and he occasionally had to lean against the wall as he walked.
Passersby cast complicated glances his way. So young, yet already so weak? Young people really should learn moderation. Hadn’t they noticed there weren’t even any planes in the sky anymore? Probably all shot down.
Liu Yang had no time to interpret the looks from those around him. If his legs weren’t so weak, he would probably be jumping for joy.
After all, in his understanding, he had just earned a clean one million with zero risk. He didn’t dare secretly tell Lin Tian—he couldn’t afford to take any chances now. His family desperately needed the money, whether for his mother’s illness or his father’s debts; the crisis was severe.
But he believed he could succeed because Gu Junqing was merely testing his buddy Lin Tian first. Besides, it wasn’t for some trivial reason that he couldn’t lend Lin Tian money. If he explained that he needed it for his mother’s treatment, surely Lin Tian would understand.
Moreover, he had lent money to Lin Tian so many times already—he’d done more than enough without asking for anything in return. This time, he simply needed the money for his mother’s treatment. Lin Tian probably wouldn’t hold a grudge.
Thinking this, Liu Yang felt even happier. First, his mother finally had money for treatment, so his father no longer had to run around borrowing money, which had caused his mother to cry daily and even contemplate suicide to avoid burdening the family further. Second, he no longer had to swallow his pride and ask Lin Tian to repay the money he had previously borrowed.
With this double blessing, he even felt like thanking Gu Junqing properly. If it weren’t for Gu Junqing constantly opposing his buddy Lin Tian, he might have even wanted to enshrine him on a plaque—what a great guy! Liu Yang sighed with emotion.
But Liu Yang was thinking too simply. He didn’t realize that whether it was wealth tempting the heart, kindness breeding resentment, or plain jealousy, any of these could twist Lin Tian’s mindset.
After all, Lin Tian was still in the early stages of the story and hadn’t experienced much. He remained quite interested in money. If it were the later Lin Tian, he would have said:
“I’ve never touched money. I have no interest in money.”