Time flew by like a fleeting white steed, and before they knew it, June had arrived.
During this period, Yun Cheng and his crew had been thriving in their business. With the addition of the vocational high school underlings, their five minivans brought in massive daily hauls of fish and lobsters.
Selling these catches went remarkably smoothly.
After all, what boss wouldn’t be "delighted" to accept the goods when dozens of tough-looking guys stood at their doorstep?
Especially after Zhao Tianyi joined them, the only potential legal loophole was effectively sealed.
There were a few restaurant owners who tried calling the police, but a single phone call from Ma Da would bring Zhao Tianyi over, and after a few words, the officers would leave.
It was incredibly hassle-free.
By now, their bulk reselling of seafood had earned them over 700,000 yuan, averaging around 50,000 yuan a day.
They had practically monopolized the supply for the night markets and food streets near Wushui County’s Youth Plaza.
Ma Da and the others had also expanded their manpower significantly.
Nearly half of the graduating vocational high school students had become their underlings, whom Ma Da and his crew referred to as "outer-circle members."
Truth be told, Wushui Vocational High didn’t have many graduates—fewer than 200 in total, with more than half being girls.
This meant that most of the remaining male students had essentially become Ma Da’s underlings.
How did these vocational high graduates end up joining them?
Word had gotten out about Ma Da and his crew’s background.
Once the students heard, their eyes lit up, and they practically begged to join.
Naturally, Ma Da hadn’t forgotten how Liu Yutong, the young mistress, had handled things before, so he accepted them all without hesitation.
While more hands meant splitting profits later, they also provided much-needed help.
The seafood wholesale business often required late-evening collections since deliveries to restaurant owners had to be made before dawn.
After all, delivering in broad daylight wouldn’t work—the restaurants wouldn’t have time to process the goods.
By the end of May, classes had ended, and in early June, the school shifted into exam preparation mode, with no more formal lessons.
This finally allowed Liu Yutong to step outside the school gates.
Ma Da and the others had rented a soon-to-be-demolished rural courtyard near the school for a few hundred yuan, using it as a temporary gathering spot.
When Liu Yutong arrived, she carefully reviewed their financial records and was genuinely impressed by their execution.
Honestly, if she had tried doing this herself, she doubted she could have made so much money in such a short time.
Reselling fish and lobsters might sound simple, but in practice, it was quite labor-intensive and exhausting.
"Everyone’s worked hard these past few months," Liu Yutong announced. "Once I finish my college entrance exams, I’ll treat everyone to a meal."
"Great! Thank you, Young Mistress!" Ma Da immediately relayed the news.
By now, they had set up several QQ groups, making communication much easier.
The first was the management group, consisting only of Ma Da, Yun Cheng, and Liu Yutong.
The second was the core members’ group, which included the original dozen or so members.
The third was the outer-circle group, filled with the vocational high underlings—close to a hundred of them.
Not everyone had a phone, but as long as someone in the group saw the message, they’d spread the word.
When Ma Da’s announcement went out, many were thrilled.
The young mistress herself was going to treat them to a meal? That was a huge honor.
With their expanded numbers, most of the underlings knew that above Ma Da and the other senior members stood a young mistress—Liu Yutong, the famed heir of Bright Pearl City’s underground world’s Yi Lian Society, and a potential future leader of the organization.
While they respected and feared her, they were also deeply curious about what she looked like.
As the successor of a syndicate, even if she was a girl, she must be incredibly formidable, right?
Some even fantasized about how they could impress her and rise through the ranks, maybe even joining the Yi Lian Society as full-fledged members like Ma Da and the others.
In any case, the news electrified the vocational high graduates, and they threw themselves into their work with even more enthusiasm.
That night, Liu Yutong didn’t return to school. Instead, she booked the largest suite at the Huangdu Hotel, the only three-star hotel in the area.
With no more classes, staying in the dormitory wasn’t ideal for handling business matters, so for the final days before the exams, she decided to stay at the hotel near the school.
This way, she could focus on last-minute studying while still keeping an eye on the business.
Two more days passed.
In her hotel room, Liu Yutong split her time between managing minor business affairs for Ma Da’s crew and immersing herself in exam preparation, making a final push before the college entrance exams.
Knock, knock, knock.
Liu Yutong was sitting on the balcony chair, the cap of her pen between her teeth, deeply engrossed in solving practice problems.
Without looking up, she called out, "Come in!"
"Young Mistress, Yu Xin’s in trouble!" Yun Cheng rushed in, his voice urgent.
Liu Yutong shot to her feet. "Is she okay?"
"Luckily, you told us to keep an eye on her. We got there in time and saved her. She’s in the hospital now, but she’s fine."
Liu Yutong exhaled in relief. "Good, that’s good."
"Was it Zhao Zhu and her gang?"
Yun Cheng nodded and began recounting what had happened.
Lately, Zhao Zhu and her clique had seemed unusually well-behaved, focusing solely on studying. Even Liu Yutong had started to believe they’d genuinely turned over a new leaf.
But they’d just been biding their time.
With the exams looming, Zhao Zhu had seized the opportunity while school was out to corner Yu Xin behind the school dam, accompanied by two of her delinquent friends.
Unable to exact revenge on Liu Yutong, she had instead unleashed her pent-up rage on Yu Xin.
Zhao Zhu was truly malicious—she had deliberately chosen to strike just days before the exams, clearly aiming to shatter Yu Xin’s confidence and sabotage her performance.
Yu Xin had been staying in the school dormitory, but she preferred quiet places for studying, often retreating to the willow trees by the dam to read.
This had given Zhao Zhu the perfect opening.
When the area was deserted, Zhao Zhu and her friends ambushed Yu Xin, beating and kicking her. They even tried stripping her to take humiliating photos, intending to break her mentally.
Yu Xin fought back desperately, but in the struggle, she lost her footing and slipped into the river.
She didn’t know how to swim. As she flailed in the water, she soon disappeared beneath the surface.
Terrified, Zhao Zhu and her friends fled in panic.
Fortunately, the people Yun Cheng had assigned to watch Yu Xin arrived just in time, diving in to rescue her.
Liu Yutong’s expression turned icy. "I underestimated just how low they’d sink."
From the start, she had arranged for Yu Xin to be protected, anticipating that Zhao Zhu might retaliate after their confrontation.
When she and Yu Xin had provoked Zhao Zhu together, she had known this might happen.
Yu Xin didn’t have many connections in society like her subordinates did, leaving her isolated and vulnerable to bullying.
Because of this, Liu Yutong specifically asked Yun Cheng to assign people to keep an eye on Yu Xin, ensuring she wouldn’t fall victim to retaliation from Zhao Zhu and her group.
Over the past while, Zhao Zhu and the others had behaved quietly, causing no trouble at all—so much so that Liu Yutong had nearly forgotten about them.
Little did she know, they’d been scheming all along.
To strike at Yu Xin during the critical period leading up to the college entrance exams was downright malicious!
Liu Yutong immediately made arrangements: "Notify Ma Da and have him bring Zhao Tianyi to ‘invite’ Zhao Zhu and her crew for a ‘tea session’ at the station."
"And while you’re at it, have Zhao Tianyi draft a restaurant transfer agreement—make sure there are no loopholes!"
