Chapter 197: Boss Ma

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“What? You’re willing to pay?”

Gu Chen figured escaping unscathed would already be lucky, so she just tossed out a random remark.

Who knew this guy would actually agree?

There couldn’t be some trick behind this, right?

After thinking it over, she simply held up one finger and said, “At the very least, ten thousand, including mental damage compensation.”

Boss Zheng didn’t even blink.

He pulled out his phone and asked, “No problem. Scan to pay or cash?”

“Damn!”

This guy couldn’t be one of those legendary rich bosses with more money than brains, could he?

“Boss, they’re here to cause trouble too!”

Manager Lu panicked and rushed forward to explain.

Gu Chen had made a bunch of complaint calls earlier, which had really put him through the wringer.

Sure, she’d helped, but that didn’t mean everything was water under the bridge.

He continued reporting everything the two of them had done.

If something went wrong, he’d be the one bearing the responsibility.

“Boss Zheng, I can give up the compensation.”

“But can you let my friend go?”

“She can’t do this kind of work.”

“As for the debt, I can slowly pay it back to you later.”

Long Fei figured since the man was the person in charge, she’d try negotiating terms.

“Little miss, your friend signed a contract.”

“This kind of thing is mutual consent.”

“If I let people go every time someone makes a fuss like you, then this establishment of mine might as well shut down.”

The other party shook his head, clearly unwilling to agree.

“There’s no way someone like this would agree.”

“Let’s just take the money and leave.”

Gu Chen never expected the guy to agree anyway.

She waved her hand, figuring they’d just have to take things one step at a time.

“Hold on.”

Boss Zheng suddenly shifted gears, his gaze landing on Gu Chen.

He spoke up, “Young man, you’ve got some impressive skills, able to take down Sang Biao.”

“How about we make a deal?”

“If you agree, her friend’s contract can be voided, and the money doesn’t need to be repaid either.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

“Not repaying the money AND letting her go—what’s that supposed to mean?”

Gu Chen furrowed her brow.

“Letting your friend go isn’t out of the question, but there are conditions.”

Boss Zheng’s eyes gleamed with sharp intent as he explained, “There’s going to be an unsanctioned fighting match here soon.”

“If you can participate and win, then everything can be discussed.”

“How about it?”

“A fighting match?”

Gu Chen was starting to understand now.

This guy must have realized she took out that Guangtou and had real skills, so he wanted her to fight in underground bouts.

Boss Zheng found a relatively clean spot and gestured for them to sit down and talk slowly.

Then he finally said what was on his mind.

“Alright, I’ll be straight with you.”

“Those two people—they’re your opponents.”

“They’re fighters under Boss Luo.”

“Extremely strong.”

“They’ve won match after match, practically sweeping the competition.”

“My people are no match for them.”

“We’ve lost badly and lost a lot of money because of it.”

“Oh, so you want me to beat those two, win back your pride, and maybe make some money off the betting on the side, right?”

Gu Chen finally understood now.

These kinds of matches always had betting pools.

Both sides would send representatives to compete, and the losing side would take a heavy hit.

Today was supposed to be the other side coming to provoke them, but they just didn’t expect to stumble and fall at her hands by accident.

Boss Zheng neither confirmed nor denied it.

He simply nodded.

“No!”

But Long Fei stood up and rejected the proposal, refusing to agree no matter what.

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Gu Chen, you can’t participate.”

In this kind of underground match, the least you’d walk away with was injuries.

And besides, this wasn’t even her business to begin with.

She definitely couldn’t let Gu Chen take on danger on her behalf.

“It’s fine, it’s just a proposal.”

“We haven’t signed any contract, have we?”

“I certainly can’t force you to participate.”

Boss Zheng’s eyes revealed no emotion, though on the surface he seemed to respect the choice.

“Can I think it over?”

Gu Chen paused, not rushing to give an answer.

After all, this wasn’t a small matter.

Just like Long Fei said, this had nothing to do with her.

There really was no need to wade into these troubled waters.

But if she kept causing trouble like this, something was bound to happen sooner or later.

She felt torn.

“No problem.”

“Take your time to think.”

“Just give me your answer before the match starts.”

Boss Zheng replied.

Then he called over the manager, seemingly to show sincerity.

“Oh right, that one named Zhao Nan—don’t assign her any work for now.”

“Take good care of her during this period.”

“Don’t let anything go wrong.”

“Understood, boss.”

“You two, make yourselves at home.”

Boss Zheng stood up, no longer trying to keep them.

“Wait!”

Gu Chen called out to him.

“Oh? You’ve made up your mind?”

“You haven’t paid the compensation yet.”

“Trying to run off just like that?”

Gu Chen hadn’t forgotten about that.

“No problem.”

“Whatever compensation you want, I can pay it.”

Boss Zheng said flatly.

And so, Long Fei accepted the ten thousand in compensation with complicated feelings, not even knowing what to say.

She even did the math—she still owed seventy thousand now.

She’d have to figure out a way to scrape together money from somewhere else.

She’d originally planned to rest early since the Monthly Exam was tomorrow, but that clearly wasn’t happening anymore.

By the time they walked out of the bar, it was nearly midnight.

Grrr~~

Right then, her stomach started growling traitorously.

She hadn’t been hungry before, but after all this time struggling and using her wits against Sang Biao, she’d burned too much energy.

She really was hungry now.

“Let’s go eat.”

“My treat.”

Long Fei said.

“Mm, alright.”

Gu Chen had no choice but to agree.

Besides, she’d just gotten some money, so one meal wasn’t a problem.

Soon she was led into a diner.

The place was brightly lit, and if there was anything particularly special about it, it was that all the seats were sofa chairs.

Several people had drinks sitting on their tables as they slept there, with luggage beside them.

The sign outside only listed cheap fast food, none of it costing more than ten bucks.

Gu Chen thought to herself that Long Fei was way too stingy.

‘If you’re treating someone, at least pick a slightly nicer place.’

“How come people are sleeping here?”

“Doesn’t the owner kick them out?”

Despite the silent complaints, Gu Chen naturally wouldn’t say it out loud.

Besides, the diner really did look strange.

Any normal business owner would have chased these people out long ago for hurting business.

“No, it’s fine.”

“This place was originally meant to serve as a shelter for people who are homeless or going through tough times.”

“As long as you order a drink, you can lie down on the sofa chairs and sleep.”

“Everyone falls on hard times at some point, which is why the owner opened this diner.”

Long Fei explained.

“I see.”

Only then did Gu Chen understand what was going on, and she immediately felt a surge of respect for the owner.

“How can they make any money like this?”

She also couldn’t help but worry.

“If they do it this way, everyone would just come over and order something cheap for a few bucks and get to sleep the whole night, plus air conditioning.”

“How could they possibly turn a profit?”

And besides, for those people who were temporarily homeless, the owner would rather help them than worry about poverty.

Just as she finished processing this, a voice came from the counter up front.

“Long Fei? Coming by so late?”

“Boss Ma, I brought a friend over for a meal.”

Following the sound of the voice, Gu Chen’s last shred of doubt was dispelled.

Because this Boss Ma was a forty-year-old man with short hair, and his tattoos couldn’t be hidden even by his black tank top.

He seemed to be known online as something like “Crossing River Dragon”—an imposing presence.

Most importantly, Boss Ma had a long scar across his face.

With that kind of look, even a normal person would have nightmares just from seeing him…

Only fearless Spiritual Little Sisters could come here to spend their money.

His appearance didn’t matter anymore.