After making a round, I returned to the entrance of the bar, and Le Yao, CC, and Robben had arrived as promised.

Robben, whom I hadn’t seen for a long time, joked with me, “Zhao Yang, after making a round, you’ve returned gloriously as a savior.”

I smiled, put my arm around his shoulder with gratitude and said, “You’ve been taking care of the bar for a while, thank you!”

“We’re friends, no need to mention it.”

Robben’s temperament is similar to mine. I nodded, refrained from saying anything overly sentimental, took out a cigarette and handed it to him. I lit one for myself and then looked at the sign of the bar.

Le Yao’s bar, named “bobo Music Bar”, is quite a fashionable name, but many bars use this style of name, so it’s lost in the mix of fashion and individuality, nothing special about it.

The bar opens at 7 p.m. Le Yao opened the closed door, led us in, and then turned on the lights.

Looking at the hardware configuration and decoration of the bar, I believe the investment in this bar is definitely not less than a million. But in this commercial street that has not yet formed a commercial atmosphere, such a huge investment is obviously risky.

Of course, if someone dares to invest 10 million to create the most luxurious bar in Suzhou, it could even drive the development of the entire commercial street. But then again, who would be interested in investing in a commercial street that has not yet formed a climate with a capital of 10 million?

An investment of over a million is just the standard investment for a bar, it can’t create a sensation. So the hope of operation can only be placed on the development of the entire commercial street.

But it’s too difficult to change consumers’ consumption habits and make them shift from one commercial street to another. This is not something that can be solved by conventional marketing methods. The marketing environment is extremely harsh, and this harshness is entirely due to the weakness of the entire commercial street, not just the bar.

After a deep analysis, I became even more pessimistic. At least I don’t have any ideas to improve the operation at the moment.

The four of us sat on the sofa, all with worried expressions. Finally, Le Yao asked me, “Zhao Yang, what should we do now?”

I thought for a moment and asked, “How much available funds do you have now?”

Le Yao answered somewhat gloomily, “Less than a hundred thousand.”

“That’s okay, it can hold on for a while. Let’s put the operation of the bar aside for now and think of a way to pay back the high-interest loan you borrowed.”

As soon as I finished speaking, CC said, “I have more than 200,000 in savings. Let’s use it for Le Yao first.”

Now is not the time to be sentimental. Before Le Yao could speak, I accepted the 200,000 that CC wanted to lend on behalf of Le Yao.

Robben, who had been silent all along, also said, “I don’t have much savings, less than 20,000, but let’s give it to Le Yao for now.”

“You’re amazing, you actually have 20,000 in savings. When I left Suzhou, I didn’t even have 2,000!” I exclaimed!

Robben laughed and said, “You, Zhao Yang, are not someone that just anyone can surpass!”

In such banter, we all forced a smile. But Le Yao refused to take Robben’s 20,000 because Robben had been singing in the bar for free for over a month.

After forcing a smile, Le Yao said to us, “I’ll figure out a way to get the rest of the money. Thank you all.”

I immediately asked, “Tell me, where are you going to find a way?”

“I’ll definitely find a way.” Le Yao vaguely said, but did not say where she was going to get the money.

“Le Yao, listen to me, we’ll all figure this out together. Whatever happens, don’t do anything foolish, understand?” I reminded Le Yao seriously, fearing that she would get herself deeper and deeper into a dead end.

CC also immediately said to Le Yao, “Zhao Yang is right. People make mistakes, but don’t make one mistake after another. We all believe that you will make a name for yourself in the entertainment industry. This is just the darkness before dawn. As long as you get through it, you’ll find that all the hardships are nothing.”

Le Yao was silent, but finally nodded.

The four of us sat for a while longer, agreed to meet again when the bar opened in the evening, and then went our separate ways.

…

After leaving the bar, my mood became complicated. Because until now, I still haven’t been able to make up my mind to ask Xiang Chen for the one million. I know a bit about his character from the years we’ve spent together.

Although he’s not a profit-driven person, he has a strong businessman’s aura. Plus, it’s a huge amount, which might make him very embarrassed. And ever since he got together with Jian Wei, although we’ve been acting as usual on the surface, there’s a gap in our hearts, which makes it even harder for me to speak up.

But at this moment, apart from Xiang Chen, I really have no other choice. Whether he’s willing or not, I have to give it a try.

After making up my mind, I finally dialed Xiang Chen’s number, a number I hadn’t dialed for more than three months.

After a moment, Xiang Chen answered the phone, and with a surprised laugh, he asked, “Zhao Yang, what wind blew you to call me?”

I also laughed and said, “Where are you now?”

“Suzhou.”

“You’re still in Suzhou?” I asked in surprise.”Yeah, I’ve been in talks with Baoli Department Store recently about setting up a specialty counter. I plan to set up a counter for top-tier tobacco and alcohol.”

I was truly amazed. I didn’t expect Xiang Chen to expand his business to Suzhou. After a while, I asked, “Circle is the one who connected you, right?”

“Yes, if this deal goes through, it will be his work achievement. It will also expand our business territory and test the waters of Suzhou’s high-end tobacco and alcohol market. It’s a win-win situation,” Xiang Chen explained.

“That’s great. By the way… are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together. I also need your help with something.”

Xiang Chen agreed immediately, saying, “Sure, Jian Wei is also in Suzhou, let’s get together.”

Upon hearing the name “Jian Wei”, I fell silent for a long time before saying, “No problem, you decide the place.”

“Alright, see you tonight.”

After Xiang Chen finished speaking, we both hung up the phone. My mood became even more complicated than before the call. Three months later, I was going to meet Jian Wei again.

I still remember how hard it was to extricate myself from the memories she left me. Whether I truly managed to do so, tonight’s meeting might be a test. When I face her again, I don’t want to feel any more palpitations or pain…

Taking a deep breath, I put my phone in my pocket and hailed a taxi to go home. I didn’t plan to do anything this afternoon. I just wanted to take a nap and then go to my appointment with Xiang Chen in the evening, preferably completely ignoring Jian Wei.

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There will be another chapter around 12 o’clock.