36: Bai Ye is about to make his move.

Early the next morning, the morning breeze slipped in through the window crack, carrying a hint of autumn chill.

A Zhen wrapped herself in the quilt and shivered, watching Li Zhan standing in front of the full-length mirror, tying a bandage.

She kicked off the quilt, stood up, and casually grabbed the coat from the foot of the bed, draping it over her shoulders.

"Still going to the company today?"

Barefoot on the cold floor tiles, she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "Rest for a few days."

Li Zhan shook his head and reached for the shirt by the bed to put it on.

"I still have to go to the company and look around. Those old foxes are watching me, waiting for me to slip up."

He turned around and pinched A Zhen's cheek.

"Come help me put on some makeup; make my complexion look a bit paler."

"You devil~"

A Zhen chuckled, poking his bandaged side with her finger.

"You were quite convincing as a seriously injured patient last night, weren't you?"

She stood on her tiptoes, her warm breath brushing against his ear.

"Especially that part... when you were pinned against Brother Biao's office door, acting like you couldn't catch your breath..."

Li Zhan suddenly stopped, turned, and walked to the full-length mirror to examine himself carefully.

He frowned, took off the shirt he had just put on, and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?" A Zhen asked, puzzled.

"Still not good enough." Li Zhan shook his head.

"Go to the pharmacy and buy a wheelchair, some mercurochrome, and disinfectant."

A Zhen covered her mouth and laughed. "Do you really need to be that dramatic?"

Li Zhan looked serious. "It's very necessary."

—

Two hours later, at the entrance of Xinyue Entertainment Center, Li Zhan, sitting in a wheelchair, was being pushed out by A Zhen.

His complexion was pale, a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his waist, and his right leg was encased in a thick cast.

Several passing waiters stopped in surprise, then quickly lowered their heads and hurried away.

A Zhen leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Satisfied now?"

Li Zhan nodded weakly, but when no one was looking, he quietly squeezed her palm.

Arriving at the corner of the second floor, A Zhen pushed the wheelchair right into Little Night, who was walking towards them.

Both of them paused, their eyes meeting briefly in the air.

Little Night smiled first.

"It's Sister A Zhen, right? Brother Zhan often mentions you and always praises how beautiful you are."

She took a half-step forward, her eyes curving into crescents. "Now that I see you in person, Brother Zhan was actually being modest."

A Zhen let go of the wheelchair handles and warmly took Little Night's hand.

"I don't come here often. Thank you for taking care of him."

She pressed her fingers gently into Little Night's palm, her smile deepening. "I heard your bartending skills are excellent. Could you teach me sometime?"

Li Zhan, in the wheelchair, stiffened his back and suddenly felt a pain in his neck—

A Zhen's hand, which had just pulled away, patted his shoulder "affectionately," but her fingernails had quietly pinched into the skin of his nape.

"What happened to Brother Zhan?"

Little Night crouched down to examine the cast on his leg.

"There was a bit of an accident at the Wharf last night."

Li Zhan's voice was tight, and a thin layer of sweat beaded on his forehead.

The scent of the two women's perfumes mixed together, making his temples throb.

"Then I'll get back to work. Call me if you need anything, Brother Zhan."

Little Night stood up and nodded at A Zhen, her short blue hair swaying slightly.

"Come visit often, Sister A Zhen."

As she turned, the tattoo on her sleeve flashed by, and her long legs, wrapped in jeans, strode away briskly.

A Zhen pushed the wheelchair again and leaned over to whisper to Li Zhan with a light laugh.

"You're quite good at picking people, aren't you?"

Her fingers gently rubbed the patch of skin on the back of his neck that she had pinched red.

"That tattoo is pretty cool. When did you start liking that style?"

Li Zhan coughed twice to hide his embarrassment.

After entering the office, A Zhen released the wheelchair handles.

"Then I'm heading back. How are you getting home tonight? Should I come pick you up?"

"No need,"

Li Zhan waved his hand. "AZu will take me back."

After A Zhen left, Li Zhan let out a long sigh, stood up from the wheelchair, sat on the sofa, and lit a cigarette.

Having two women meet like that was truly more of a headache than a gang fight at the Wharf.

Just then, the door opened, and Little Night walked in carrying coffee.

She glanced at the wheelchair thrown in the corner, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

"That was quite a convincing performance."

Li Zhan exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Tell AZu and Old Zhou to come to the office."

Ten minutes later, AZu and Old Zhou pushed the door open and entered.

AZu was shocked to see Li Zhan in this state. "Brother Zhan..."

"It's fake, I'm fine." Li Zhan waved his hand.

Old Zhou sat down on the sofa with a smile. "Your Brother Zhan is playing a bit of a bitter-flesh trick here..."

AZu finally relaxed.

Old Zhou looked at Li Zhan. "Aren't you worried that acting like this will only make Master Bai more suspicious about last night..."

Li Zhan flicked the ash from his cigarette.

"What's important now is Ninth Master and Seventh Uncle. As for Master Bai, I've been on his blacklist for a long time because of the Flour Chang business. Besides, they won't be able to jump around for much longer."

He looked at AZu. "Those brothers from yesterday..."

"They've all been taken care of,"

AZu immediately replied. "Each of them was given a sum of money, and those with serious injuries got an extra share."

Li Zhan nodded, pulled a photo from his pocket, and tossed it onto the coffee table.

"These two subordinates of Master Bai—one is a scholar, the other a warrior."

He looked at Old Zhou. "Have Big Courage and Shui Sheng feel them out. Remember to be careful; these two are not simple."

Old Zhou picked up the photo and studied it carefully. "You want to move against them?"

"First, get to know their habits and the places they frequent,"

Li Zhan's gaze turned cold. "When the time comes, we need to strike a fatal blow."

He looked at AZu again. "About the meeting yesterday..."

AZu immediately replied, "I was just about to report to you. I plan to discuss the specific details with Sister Flower and Little Night again. For instance, how much to set the membership fees, and the commission ratio for the young ladies."

He took out a small notebook and flipped through it.

"The Gambling Den hall also needs to be rearranged. I'm planning to clear out a space for a bar, and the seating needs to be adjusted to make it more convenient for the young ladies to accompany the guests."

He looked up at Li Zhan. "We aim to start implementing this next week."

Li Zhan showed an approving smile. "Not bad. You're finally able to draw inferences about other cases based on my intentions."

He patted AZu's shoulder. "Proceed as planned."

At this moment, Li Zhan's phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, frowned, stood up, and walked to the window to answer it.

Two minutes later, he hung up.

AZu and Old Zhou both turned to look at him.

Li Zhan waved at AZu, who understood, got up, and closed the door on his way out.

"Refined Rong says that Master Bai's side will make a move tonight." Li Zhan lowered his voice.

Old Zhou's expression sharpened. "In the Southern District?"

Li Zhan nodded, tapping his fingers twice on the coffee table. "—And me."

Old Zhou frowned. "Were you exposed at the Wharf yesterday?"

Li Zhan shook his head. "Unlikely. It should be about the Flour Chang business."

He looked up at Old Zhou, a glimmer of sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"Since the Bai family is making a move tonight, we'll take the opportunity to fan the flames. It will all be blamed on the Bai family anyway."

He walked back to the sofa and traced his finger across the distribution of forces in the Southern District on the map.

Finally, he tapped heavily on two markers closest to the Gambling Den.

"AZu's people have been monitoring this area for some time. You go ask him for the information later, and take out the people in charge of these two points first."

Old Zhou leaned in to look at the map, and Li Zhan continued.

"We need to move against those two people in the photo ahead of schedule too; there isn't much time to prepare. This opportunity is too rare. If they move against the Southern District today, and we take out one of them tomorrow, who will the Bai family think did it?"

"It is indeed a good opportunity to weaken both of their factions."

Old Zhou stared at the map and nodded, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Alright, we'll set a fire for them these next two nights."

Li Zhan leaned back on the sofa and tossed a cigarette to Old Zhou.

"I'll have Refined Rong provide the whereabouts of those two for tomorrow night. We just need to handle the strike."

Old Zhou took the cigarette and looked at Li Zhan. "Then what will you do tonight?"

Li Zhan lit one for himself, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Since we don't know where they are going to strike... then we'll just... find a place for them."

He picked up his phone and dialed. "A Zhen, come pick me up and take me to Changan Hospital."