Luo Yang came up with a new method.
"I won't listen! Dare to deceive me... mmm..."
Tang Guihua hadn't finished speaking when her mouth was sealed by Luo Yang's.
She struggled for quite a while before she finally calmed down.
Just as Luo Yang had managed to persuade Tang Guihua, An Yuying began to sway seductively again.
Luo Yang had no choice but to peck An Yuying's lips first, to stabilize her emotions.
Seizing an opportunity, Luo Yang then said, "Sister An, Sister Guihua, tonight I still have to fight in the contest. I was hoping to win the championship first, then go give your parents gifts, and we can all celebrate together. What do you think?"
Tang Guihua coldly said, "But we have to go to my house first."
Upon hearing this, An Yuying voiced her objection first.
"Niu Zai~, why don't we go to my place first?" An Yuying cooed.
She halted Luo Yang's intention to go to Tang Guihua's house first, feeling a bit more balanced in her heart.
"Wouldn't it be better for us to celebrate together after winning the championship?" Luo Yang suggested.
"No way, we already agreed to go to my... mmm..."
Tang Guihua attempted to protest, but her mouth was once again sealed by Luo Yang's, rendering her speechless.
After a while, she stopped making any sounds.
An Yuying was waiting for comfort, and Luo Yang was busily pleased.
When he first returned, they were just about to have dinner.
After Luo Yang went upstairs, dinner had to be postponed.
By that time, it was already past five in the evening. After eating, they would still need to prepare, and time was tight.
"Sister An, Sister Guihua, let's go downstairs and have dinner. After the contest is over, I'll agree to whatever you want," Luo Yang said.
Upon hearing this, the two village beauties both smiled.
Although they were competitive and jealous, they also understood the bigger picture.
The contest tonight was very important to Luo Yang.
If they clung to him stubbornly, it might distract him.
"Yuying, did you remember? He has to satisfy us tonight," Tang Guihua compromised for the time being.
"I remember," An Yuying said with a smile.
Their conversation was overheard by the beauties downstairs.
Luo Yang got out of bed and turned to hold the hands of the two village beauties, to lead them out of the bed.
However, Tang Guihua and An Yuying both giggled. Their pretty faces flushed with a light shyness, and they became bashful, unable to look at Luo Yang again.
As Luo Yang looked down, he immediately withdrew his hands, hanging them in front of his thighs.
"Sister An, Sister Guihua, I'm going to the bathroom first, huh."
Before he finished speaking, Luo Yang turned and slipped out of the room.
The two village beauties looked at each other and smiled.
Without Luo Yang by their side, Tang Guihua and An Yuying could return to being normal friends.
They knew that neither of them would be able to have Luo Yang all to themselves.
Although An Yuying was unwilling at heart, there was nothing she could do.
Pressuring him would probably not make Luo Yang give up Tang Guihua.
For now, An Yuying could only wait for her opportunity.
Deep down, An Yuying did not want to share every bit of Luo Yang with Tang Guihua.
Tang Guihua felt the same as An Yuying, wishing to have Luo Yang all to herself.
Yet, both village beauties found their desires difficult to fulfill.
Luo Yang stayed in the bathroom for quite some time before he came out.
There were so many beauties at dinner, they needed two tables to accommodate everyone.
Luo Yang was flanked by An Yuying and Tang Guihua on his left and right. As soon as he took his seat, they staked their claims to avoid any other beauties taking the wrong seats.
Everyone chatted about the contest that evening while eating.
All the beauties hoped Luo Yang would win the championship.
Luo Yang had initially wanted to let Zhang Jing fight in the first two rounds, but Zhang Jing did not agree.
The rules of the China-Japan amateur martial arts contest were simple: as the winner on the platform, one could keep challenging the opponent's fighters.
In other words, if capable, one person could fight through all the opponent's players on the platform.
Luo Yang was still unclear about when he would be entering the stage.
Just then, Luo Yang's phone rang again.
When he checked, it was a call from Guan Baiqiang, so he stepped outside to answer.
Guan Baiqiang said, "Doctor Luo, I've discussed it with my family. We don't have much money, but scraping everything together, we should be able to come up with 500,000."
Luo Yang replied, "500,000 is fine, I'll return it to you within a month, with 6 percent interest."
Guan Baiqiang was very happy to hear this and had no objections.
6 percent interest was indeed very profitable.
"Doctor Luo, can you come over tonight so we can draw up a formal loan agreement?" Guan Baiqiang asked.
"Sure, I might be late, but I'll call you once I'm on my way. How's that?" Luo Yang replied.
"Great, I'll wait for your call," Guan Baiqiang said, his tone full of anticipation.
Luo Yang didn't need the money for anything.
However, he had his very special reasons.
Winning the Guan family's trust was already quite an achievement.
Luo Yang was pleased as well and was about to go back inside to continue eating.
Just then, his mobile phone rang again.
Thinking it might be Guan Baiqiang with something else to say, he checked the caller ID and saw that the number was unfamiliar.
After answering the call, Luo Yang had already guessed it was either an advertisement or a call selling some improper product.
"Hello, who is this?" Luo Yang asked.
He expected to hear a stranger's voice saying something like "We're from XX company, and we have a product..."
But to his surprise, the voice on the other end of the phone was one he recognized.
"Is this Luo Yang?"
Hearing his name, a bad feeling arose in Luo Yang's mind.
Searching his memory, he suddenly recalled where he had heard this voice before.
It was no other than Shou He, whom Luo Yang had beaten up at Xiaoshulin Market's seafood store.
"What's up? Looking for a one-on-one showdown?" Luo Yang scoffed.
Considering Shou He a defeated foe, Luo Yang didn't take him seriously.
Unbeknownst to him, Shou He was scoffing as well.
"I'm exactly looking for a one-on-one battle with you!" Shou He retorted defiantly.
To be honest, Luo Yang could crush him with one hand.
"Then bring it on! But not tonight, I'm busy. How about tomorrow? I'll show you how I beat a dog single-handedly!" Luo Yang scoffed in response.
"Tonight. You have no choice! Your brother is in my hands, and if you don't come, he won't see tomorrow's sunrise! And a friendly reminder, don't call the cops, or you'll only find his corpse!" Shou He sneered.
Hearing this, Luo Yang nearly bristled.
A surge of fury shot up from the soles of his feet.
Then, thinking about it, what Shou He said could be true, but it could also just be a scare tactic.
"Really? Let me hear my brother's voice first," Luo Yang said calmly.
As he spoke, Luo Yang walked away, not wanting the beauties to hear the content of his conversation.
"Your wish is granted," Shou He replied coldly.
After a moment, Luo Yang heard a familiar shouting from the other end of the phone.
"Brother! Save me!"
Indeed, it was the voice of Luo Yang's younger brother, Luo Guoxing.
"Don't worry, I'll come to save you," Luo Yang consoled.
"Heard him? You've got one hour to get to the reservoir," Shou He demanded.
"I'm currently in the county town, I promise to get there within two hours," Luo Yang replied.
He wanted to buy more time to think about how to save his brother.
One hour was too short; he wouldn't have met Zhu Li yet by the time it was up.
"One hour! Or prepare to collect a corpse!" Shou He asserted forcefully.
"You have no family, right? Piss me off, and I'll wipe out your entire clan!" Luo Yang roared.
"I'm so scared! Bring it on!" Shou He said before hanging up the phone.
Luo Yang immediately called Zhu Li.
After hearing him out, Zhu Li said, "I'm coming to find you."
The dusk was deepening.
Luo Yang took a deep breath and glanced at the time once more—it was already 6:40 PM.
He needed to get to the reservoir before 7:40 PM.