"Little sister, step outside for a moment. I need to check your brother's… physical condition."
Li Yan hesitated, staring at the manager, then at Caoyang.
Check his physical condition?
Yeah right. She just wanted to check out his other "condition"—maybe even swallow him whole.
Li Yan was torn.
She couldn't tell whether Caoyang truly didn't know what a "host" was… or was just pretending.
Anyone with a functioning brain knew eight thousand a month wasn't a normal job.
He should know.
But this idiot freaked out when he thought she was a hooker—yet now he's ready to be a male escort?
Was he a double-standard dog?!
"Hurry up, sweetheart," the manager urged.
Caoyang waved her off casually. "It's fine. Wait for me outside. Two minutes."
Li Yan stepped out, mind tangled like a mess of yarn.
The villagers had sent Caoyang to rely on her… and she was about to let him sell his body?
If he knew what the job really was, fine—but what if he didn't?
What if he got taken advantage of, then blamed her for not telling him?
Thinking of that, she stood up, ready to drag him out herself.
And that manager—first day meeting Li Yan, not even offering a little benefit—already wanted to eat Caoyang's virgin essence?
Why?
Even I haven't eaten him yet!
She raised her hand to knock—
But before she touched the door, it flung open.
"Go, go, go!"
Caoyang grabbed her hand and bolted down the hallway.
Behind them came the manager's furious scream:
"Fck your mother! You little bastard! Fck your ancestors!"
She was so mad she even switched into Sichuan dialect.
They sprinted until the Nightingale Club disappeared behind them.
"What did you do?! Why was she cursing you out like that?" Li Yan clutched her chest, breathless.
"That woman's a pervert! She told me to eat her… you know!" Caoyang shuddered.
"You don't know how nasty that thing looked. Smelled fishy and rotten. I almost threw up!"
"I just said, 'Wow, that stinks,' and she started cursing me!"
He even looked wronged.
Li Yan punched him.
"Do you even know what a host is?"
"No."
"Idiot! A host is a gigolo. You sell your body!"
"What?!"
Caoyang exploded in fury.
"You should've said so earlier! I would've beaten her ass! How dare she try to make me sell my body?!"
"Oh, please. She was giving you a compliment. Not everyone qualifies for that job, you know."
"And seriously—you could've just refused. Why'd you have to tell her she smelled? That's a bit much."
"Now look at you. I don't even know if I should go to work tomorrow. It'll be awkward seeing her!"
"You still want to go?!"
"Of course! Otherwise how am I supposed to eat?"
"You're switching jobs. No nightclubs. Come suffer in a factory with me."
"Are you stupid? I told you I was applying as a waitress, and you still made a fuss! If you want to suffer, go alone. Don't drag me down!"
"I don't care! You're not going!"
"Oh, so now you're the boss? Did your mom ever tell you when you go out into the world, YOU listen to ME, or I listen to YOU?!"
"She told me to listen to you…"
"Exactly. So shut up. I'm going to work tomorrow."
"If you go, I'll—"
"You'll what?"
"I'll tell your mom and the whole village you work in a nightclub!"
"You're sick. It's just a nightclub. I'm a waitress, not a hooker!"
"Heh… well, I'll let them imagine the rest. You explain it yourself."
"Caoyang, I regret ever letting you tag along!"
Because of Caoyang's threat, Li Yan had no choice but to compromise.
She knew exactly what the villagers were like—if Caoyang dared say it, they'd believe it, and probably twist it into something ten times worse.
She didn't care about her own reputation, but her parents would never survive the rumors.
So the two found an electronics factory and started working that very night.
Back then, jobs were everywhere.
As long as you didn't mind the conditions, you could find work in a day.
Factories also hired easily.
Since Li Yan had worked in a factory before, she was considered "skilled labor."
Plus, she was pretty.
The team leader had some thoughts about her and gave her an easier position.
Caoyang wasn't so lucky.
He was too handsome, which attracted the wrong kind of attention.
The team leader targeted him and assigned him to scrub circuit boards.
Li Yan sat at the end of the assembly line, inspecting finished boards.
It was easy work, but she still ended up drenched in sweat.
The factory was small, overcrowded, and boiling hot.
A few old ceiling fans spun overhead, but they might as well have been decorations.
She wiped sweat from her forehead and glared at Caoyang, who was scrubbing boards nonstop.
"Idiot… There were easier jobs out there, but he insisted on coming to the factory.
Fine, come to the factory, but why drag me down with you?
Big. Stupid. Idiot!"
On the third day, the supervisor came around.
He immediately laid eyes on the pretty, young Li Yan.
He praised her for being "skilled" and "experienced," saying she could become a line leader—then invited her out to dinner to "discuss her promotion."
Li Yan didn't even bother responding.
She knew exactly what he wanted.
It wasn't that she was noble—she just didn't give a damn about being a line leader.
All that trouble for a measly two or three hundred extra a month?
Her ambitions weren't that low.
Being ignored irritated the supervisor, but he still had hopes for her.
He didn't want to cause a scene, so he went after someone next to her—
Her "little brother."
And that someone… was doomed.
Caoyang had no idea what was going on.
He only knew that today, instead of two people scrubbing boards, it was just him.
He was going at it like crazy—because if he slowed down, he'd hold up the whole line.
While everyone else worked at normal speed, he was being forced into double speed.
The supervisor wanted to target him, but soon realized Caoyang was a freak—
The kid did two people's workload by himself without slowing production at all.
But humans have limits.
When Caoyang asked to go to the bathroom, the line leader—who had been warned by the supervisor—refused.
"If you leave, the whole line stops. Hold it."
Ten minutes later, Caoyang asked again.
Still refused.
So he ignored them and went.
As soon as he left, the line leader ordered the entire line to stop.
When Caoyang returned, he heard the supervisor yelling.
The line leader shoved all the blame onto him—
"He left his post without permission!"
The supervisor started screaming at Caoyang, spit flying everywhere.
While yelling, he kept glancing at Li Yan, waiting for her to step in and plead for mercy so he could "give her face."
Li Yan sat still, not moving a muscle.
She even hoped he'd yell harder—maybe he'd scare Caoyang into quitting.
"You still want this job or not?!" the supervisor roared.
"Your mother wants it!"
Caoyang finally snapped, grabbed the supervisor by the throat, and lifted him like a baby chick.