Chapter 228: Violating a Man’s Will
Of all the thirty-six strategies, retreat is the best.
Run first, leave the rest to time.
The next day, after filming the supplementary clips of Zhou Guoqin at Li Baoyin’s school, the entire shoot wrapped up.
During the filming at the school, Li Baoyin was the center of attention like never before.
A mild stir rippled through the campus—CCTV had come specifically to film Professor Li. Even if it was just one segment, it was still picking the tallest among the short, a huge deal.
The vice principal bustled about busily, and Li Baoyin was thoroughly satisfied. Wasn’t this far more gratifying than being a deputy dean?
At noon, the school arranged the meal.
There was no way around it—the agricultural channel and the agricultural school were a perfect match. Normally, they’d have wanted to connect but lacked a solid channel. Now that it came knocking on their door, they had to provide good service, leave a contact, and open up more avenues for the future.
Zhou You joined as a companion—no choice, it was a social obligation.
It was a win-win situation, so why not?
This made the school-enterprise cooperation truly legitimate. Next, the school would invest more talent and technology, striving to grow bigger and stronger, and create new glories.
After eating and drinking their fill,
Zhou You had Wang Fangfang take Xie Yingying and Ren Changzhen to the mall for some shopping, and to pick up a few bags along the way.
Since they’d come all this way, they couldn’t leave empty-handed—that wouldn’t suit Zhou You’s generous and free-spirited nature.
Everyone else got a big red envelope each.
They spent some time at the sparring gym, experiencing a bit of wild masculine energy.
Once Wang Fangfang returned, they saw Xie Yingying and her group off at the plane, and the whole affair came to a圆满 conclusion.
As they were leaving, Xie Yingying said to Zhou You, “Teacher Zhou, we’ll arrange for the editing as soon as we get back, aiming to air it next month. We’ll send you a copy of the final cut.”
See? That’s the benefit of being generous with money.
Health is the foundation.
Daily exercise is a must.
Bate’er was feeling a bit down lately. Zhou You’s progress was just too fast—visible to the naked eye. Even with his foundation in sparring, it was still disheartening.
Now he could trade blows with Bate’er on fairly even terms.
His good days had only just started a few days ago, and Bate’er didn’t want to lose his job yet.
The perks were too good; he couldn’t bear to leave.
But if there was nothing left to teach, what then?
He went to talk to Li Houliang, who just laughed. Seeing Bate’er reminded him of his younger self—thank goodness he’d switched roles quickly, or he’d have been phased out.
“No worries. Look, Xiao Si couldn’t beat Brother You long ago, and he’s still getting by,” Li Houliang said, using Xiao Si as an example. Xiao Si rolled his eyes but stayed silent.
Since he couldn’t beat anyone, he kept his mouth shut. As long as Zhou You took him along on every outing, his position was more secure than anyone else’s.
Bate’er finally caught on—it was mainly a mindset issue. He’d been stuck thinking of himself as a coach, falling into a trap. He stared at Li Houliang intently. “Can you beat Brother You now?”
Li Houliang was drinking water when he heard that. He choked, coughing a few times—what a sore subject. Of course he could still win; they weren’t in the same weight class. But it wasn’t as effortless as before, and a careless slip could lead to an upset.
“Beat him? Brother You’s learning wrestling and sparring is for fitness, not fighting. You need to correct that mindset,” Li Houliang said with righteous conviction.
“Besides, our main job now is to protect Brother You’s safety, just in case. What era is this? Still thinking about fighting and killing all day.” Li Houliang dropped a hint for Bate’er.
To be honest, Li Houliang wasn’t stupid. From the moment Zhou You brought Bate’er all the way from the grasslands, he’d guessed Zhou You’s general intent.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Especially with security work on outings—if everyone’s from the same place, they’re united.
But that couldn’t withstand the shifts in human nature or the greed of people’s hearts.
Bringing in some external pressure was a good thing, a wake-up call for everyone, so they could hold onto their rice bowls longer.
The life Li Houliang had now was something he’d never dared to dream of before—such a big venue, such high pay.
He’d gotten a house and a car, and was about to get married. Anyone who tried to take this life from him would face a fight to the death.
Zhou You and Wang Fangfang were in the villa, happily staring at a big pile of keys.
The keys to the high-rise apartments had arrived—16 units in total. He felt a wave of emotion, looking at the heap of keys before him. This was something that only happened in dreams.
How many times, while paying off his mortgage, had he dreamed of becoming a landlord, spending his days collecting rent and reading books, living that kind of boring but simple life? Too bad it only existed in dreams.
Now, with all these keys in hand, his heart gradually calmed. They looked like a lot, but the total value wasn’t high—still less than the Zhulang Pavilion.
As for renting them out, that was a small-time mindset. How much money could it make? Not worth the hassle.
Being a landlord? No, too much trouble.
He’d have to handle repairs for tenants, and every little problem would come to him—that would drive him crazy.
He’d keep them. Do simple renovations on a few units, let the staff from the sparring and swimming gyms live there for free. Everyone’s struggling; saving a bit helps. He didn’t need the money anyway, and it was perfect for winning loyalty.
Wang Fangfang was overjoyed too—finally getting her own place.
She sat there, staring blankly for a long time, feeling like she was in a dream. In the traditional sense, buying a house meant putting down roots. After all her hard work, she’d actually put down roots in the provincial capital, with no mortgage to worry about.
As she thought about it, her eyes reddened. She’d only dreamed of this before, and now the dream had become reality.
She couldn’t help but hug Zhou You, crying softly.
Zhou You patted her shoulder, understanding the feeling completely. When he’d first gotten his own place, he’d felt the same—a sense of relief after hardship.
But his joy had been too brief, because every month’s mortgage payment reminded him that the deed wasn’t his yet—it belonged to the bank. If he defaulted, the house was gone.
As Zhou You comforted Wang Fangfang, he noticed something was off. “Hey, what are you doing? Are you repaying kindness with resentment? I’m going to report you for violating a man’s will!”
Wang Fangfang leaned her mouth to Zhou You’s ear. “If you resist, that’s violating a woman’s will!”
Zhou You froze, letting Wang Fangfang have her way.
He tried to squeeze out a few tears, but since he wasn’t a professional actor, no tears came—instead, a smile crept into the corners of his eyes.
The role-play failed.
After a long while,
Zhou You idly played with some modeling clay, but the quality was too good. He’d barely shape it into the form he wanted, and the moment he let go, it snapped back to its original shape. Exhausted from the effort and getting nowhere, he had to give up.
But just as he let go, the clay rebounded and smacked him right in the face.
Furious, Zhou You wanted to complain to the manufacturer, but on closer inspection, it was over 20 years old.
Long past its expiration date. He had to take the loss.