I let out a heavy sigh of relief, then sat down on the ground, feeling utterly exhausted, savoring the dreamlike night—I felt like I had been saved!

...

I lit a cigarette in the darkness and lay down on the grass in front of the shop without a care in the world. Half an hour passed, and I didn't even touch my phone. I kept thinking about what was going on behind the scenes... and how Cao Xiaobei managed to deal with the cunning Cao Jinbo? And will things really go smoothly for him, as Cao Xiaobei said?

My phone vibrated. I picked it up and saw it was Cao Xue calling...

Eager to know the answer, I quickly answered the call. He was as straightforward as ever, asking me directly, "Has Cao Xiaobei contacted you?"

"They came looking for me, and they smashed up my house."

Cao Xue asked with some doubt, "Wasn't he going to deliver the keys to you? Why would he smash up your house?"

"This guy's got a bit of a brain fart!" After a short pause, I asked again, "Dude, what's going on with this key thing? I'm still completely clueless!"

Cao Xue said angrily, "Damn it, his precious son's words carry more weight than mine... When I mentioned this to him before, he gave me a good scolding, and a while ago he sent Cao Xiaobei to get the keys from me... Hah, he's definitely the biological son, much more reliable than me, the adopted son..."

"How do you know Cao Xiaobei didn't get scolded when she asked him for the keys?"

Cao Xue paused for a moment, then replied, "That's true, how come I didn't think of that... But there's something I need to tell you. If I'm not willing to give him the key, Cao Xiaobei really doesn't have the ability to take it from me... You understand what I mean?"

"Don't worry, whether you brought this key or Cao Xiaobei brought it, I acknowledge everything I told you before."

"You're a very sensible person!"

I smiled and said, "The key has been delivered, but I still can't feel at ease. You need to help me figure out... whether I can actually make this business during the Chinese New Year period stable."

Cao Xue misunderstood me. He replied, "Leave this to me. If you're not comfortable with this, I'll send someone to keep watch over you tomorrow."

"That's not what I meant. I meant your uncle... This time, he managed to change my lock, but who knows what else he might do next? I really can't take it anymore!"

"Don't worry about that... Cao Xiaobei gave you the key, nothing will go wrong... But I just don't understand, what exactly is your relationship with Cao Xiaobei? How come he helped you out and then smashed up your house?... You're not kidding me, are you?"

"It's hard to explain... He really did bring people to smash up the house. Why don't you come and take a look?"

"Never mind... I'm busy playing with the girl, I don't have time to go over... Get the money here right away, I'm a little short on cash lately."

I responded, and Cao Xue hung up the phone...

After sitting alone for a while, I quickly opened Weibo and contacted the guests who had booked rooms with me before. To make communication easier, I asked them to add me on WeChat. Before long, I had closed three deals.

When I had some free time again, I couldn't help but wonder: I really can't figure out what Cao Xiaobei is thinking. Could it be that he's really just dealing with the issue, not the person? Or is there some other hidden reason?