Chapter 29: Pay Up, Kid
"Big brother, I get it now... please spare me, big brother, I was just doing someone a favor." Sweat dripped from Ah Gou’s forehead like beans. Zhang Yang casually twisted his arm, but in fact, Ah Gou’s elbow was nearly dislocated. The nerves in his joints twisted like a rope, the pain so sharp he almost pissed himself.
He was a thug who’d been in countless fights, but he didn’t even see how Zhang Yang grabbed him. Just that alone told him he couldn’t afford to mess with this guy.
As soon as he said that, the few punks beside him stared at each other dumbly. They had wanted to rush in to save him, but after watching their boss get pummeled into submission by Zhang Yang, none of them dared to move a muscle.
“Cut the crap. I’m asking what mistake you made.” Zhang Yang pressed his knee slightly, and Ah Gou screamed again.
“I get it, I get it! I shouldn’t have tried to hit you, big brother! I shouldn’t have harassed Miss Gao! I shouldn’t have listened to Bai Liangfeng’s instigation…”
“Wrong!” Zhang Yang picked up the cigarette butt in his hand and shoved it into Ah Gou’s mouth. “Your mistake was pretending to be tough while smoking such cheap crap.”
Ah Gou almost burst into tears. What kind of excuse was that? You beat me up over a cheap smoke?
But he didn’t dare protest. “Yes, yes, it’s all my fault! Smoking cheap cigarettes and acting tough—I’ll stop, please let me go.”
“I can let you go, but you seem to have forgotten something, haven’t you?” Zhang Yang patted his forehead and chuckled meaningfully.
Seeing his strange grin, Ah Gou started sweating again. He had no idea what Zhang Yang was getting at, but didn’t dare ask outright. “Big brother, could you maybe give me a little hint?”
“Hint my ass. You guys ate, drank, and stayed in this hotel for so long without paying a dime, right?”
“Ah! Big brother, we only hung out in the lobby, we didn’t stay overnight!”
“Bullshit. You think the lobby lets you mess around like that? You must’ve had rooms. Gao Manager, let’s calculate it—six people, six standard rooms, for half a month, how much?” Zhang Yang turned to Gao Qi.
Gao Qi was stunned. She finally came back to her senses—damn, this Zhang Yang could really fight! One guy took down five or six thugs. Unreal.
As for getting compensation, she didn’t even dare hope. She just wanted those thugs gone and never coming back.
So when Zhang Yang asked Ah Gou to pay up, she hurriedly signaled him with her eyes and waved her hands, meaning: forget it, as long as the hotel can keep running, I’m grateful.
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“A hundred thousand?” Zhang Yang asked suspiciously.
Gao Qi was speechless, while Ah Gou fainted on the spot. Even a five-star hotel wouldn’t charge that much!
Six people, even if each had a room at 1,200 a night, half a month would be around 20,000. A hundred thousand was daylight robbery! Bai Liangfeng only paid him five grand for this job!
“Big brother, can’t you make it a bit less? It’s not even a five-star, after all.” Ah Gou squeezed out a few tears. Zhang Yang sighed impatiently. “Fine, fine, I’ll give you a discount—30% off, 90,000!”
Tears streamed down Ah Gou’s face. “Ninety thousand... I don’t have that much, big brother. And, uh, even with a 30% discount, that’s not ninety thousand.”
“Hah, didn’t think a thug could do math. Fine, seventy thousand flat, not a cent less.” Zhang Yang tightened his grip a little. “Pay it now, I don’t believe you don’t have a card.”
Ah Gou looked at him and saw he wasn’t joking. Gritting his teeth, he ordered one of his underlings to hand over a bank card to Gao Qi. “Password is xxxxxx.”
Gao Qi looked at Zhang Yang. The hotel had lost a lot of business lately, but she really didn’t want the money. Still, seeing Zhang Yang’s firm expression, she had no choice but to swipe it through the POS machine.
Once the payment went through, Zhang Yang released Ah Gou and clapped his hands. “If you’re not convinced, come back for a rematch.”
That line was badass. The thugs stared at each other, then looked at Ah Gou. He groaned, didn’t even dare glance back at Zhang Yang, and walked straight out the door.
“Remember to get the money back from Bai Liangfeng for your losses,” Zhang Yang called out kindly behind him.
Ah Gou stumbled but stopped, realizing Zhang Yang was right—this was all Bai Liangfeng’s fault. He’d get his money back.
One of his lackeys muttered as they left, “Boss, let’s go wreck that guy and take our money back.”
Ah Gou glanced at him but said nothing.
The punk thought Ah Gou was considering it and yelled, “Then I’ll grab my weapon!”
“Grab your damn weapon, idiot! Didn’t you see just now?” Ah Gou slapped him hard. “That kid’s moves were like Brother Xiong’s! You know who Brother Xiong is? Special Forces! I bet that guy’s either trained or ex-military. Even if all of us went at once, we might not beat him.”
“But Zhang Yang’s just a student…”
“Exactly! That’s what’s weird, dumbass.” Ah Gou glared and smacked him again. “A student with skills like that? There’s something off. Use your damn brain. We’ll tell Brother Xiong first, let him decide. As for the money, we can leave it for now.”
*****
“Zhang Yang!” In the Qingyuan Hotel Administration Office, the busty Gao Qi bit her lip and stared at the dusty-looking guy before her. She tapped her desk with her finger to bring him back to reality—Zhang Yang was clearly zoning out.
“Huh?” Zhang Yang looked up with a flattering smile. Just now, the system voice had chimed again.
【Act of bravery detected. Reward: 3 system points. Current total: 23 points. Title: Promising Youth. Please continue your progress. Upon reaching 100 points, you will earn the title Moral Model. As a Moral Model, you will receive 1 extra point per day.】
Zhang Yang slapped his thigh. Damn, too late! If he’d known beating up Ah Gou gave 3 points, he wouldn’t have let the others go!
But of course, that was hindsight. When he’d fought Ah Gou, he was nervous as hell, ready to run if things went south.
But he didn’t expect the Advanced Combat Technique to be so effective. He’d only practiced it for a bit over half a month, yet it felt so natural in the fight. Even if the other punks had joined in, he was confident he could still win.
Zhang Yang also knew Ah Gou wouldn’t let it go easily—but he wasn’t afraid. As long as they didn’t bring weapons, he was confident he could take them all down one by one until they surrendered.
But that was a problem for later. Right now… damn, he needed a job first. He only had 37.5 yuan left, not even enough for a room.
“So you’re saying you want to keep working part-time at the hotel?” Gao Qi clearly didn’t buy it. With Zhang Yang’s skills, he could easily be a bodyguard, not some low-wage room service clerk. This guy clearly had other motives.
Zhang Yang looked completely serious. “Senior, I’ve only got 37 yuan left. I can’t even afford a room. Are you doubting my sincerity?”
Gao Qi frowned. She couldn’t quite figure him out, but something about him felt off. “But you don’t need to take a 40-yuan-a-night job. If you really need money, I can give you the 70,000 Ah Gou paid.”
“Hey, senior, that’s not right. I might be broke, but I earn my own money. What’s mine is mine, what’s not is not. As they say, a gentleman loves wealth but takes it honorably.” Zhang Yang said with a righteous air, hoping the system would reward him for his noble words—but it didn’t react at all.
“Fine, fine, I’ll take your word for it.” Gao Qi could tell he was exaggerating, but couldn’t find fault in it. Besides, having him around might not be bad—if those thugs came again, at least someone could hold the fort.
“I swear it’s true,” Zhang Yang raised his hand solemnly. “But please, don’t cut my pay.”
“Pfft, this is a legitimate hotel. No one’s cutting your wages.” Gao Qi rolled her eyes, pulled a work contract from her drawer, handed it to him, then paused and took it back. “But before signing, answer me one question.”
