Xia Xiaolan had indeed heard the name “Chen Xiliang” before, but on television. A clothing industry tycoon who made his fortune in the 1980s, by the millennium his assets were worth hundreds of millions. Chen Xiliang was only in his forties then, and he made the news not for his business success but on a legal documentary program rather than a financial channel.

Chen had been kidnapped, with the kidnappers demanding a 50 million yuan ransom. The Chen family certainly didn’t have that much cash on hand. The son from Chen’s first marriage could only gather a little over 10 million, but before they could deliver it, the kidnappers killed Chen. The family only recovered Chen’s corpse. Such a major case demanded police investigation, given its severe social impact. The truth turned out more melodramatic than a pulp fiction story – the kidnappers were Chen’s young second wife and his driver. The second wife resented Chen’s decision to hand the business over to his first wife’s son. She decided to either get 50 million and flee or kill Chen, as she would inherit half his assets anyway!

The more Xia Xiaolan looked, the more convinced she became that Chen Xiliang before her was that unfortunate businessman.

She sighed, “Mr. Chen, good deeds will be rewarded.”

Since he had withstood Ke Yixiong’s pressure without betraying her, Xia Xiaolan decided she must help Chen Xiliang avoid his future poisonous young wife. Chen’s clothing factory had developed well, becoming a relatively well-known domestic clothing brand with a good market share in southern cities. But after Chen’s death and the scandal, by the time Chen’s son recovered from grief and got the family affairs in order, it wasn’t long before the clothing industry underwent major changes after 2000, and the Chen family business gradually declined.

Chen Xiliang felt unnerved by Xia Xiaolan’s stare and urged her to select her goods.

The entire wholesale clothing market seemed reserved for Xia Xiaolan, with vendors eager for her to leave.

Xia Xiaolan spent almost all of her ten thousand plus yuan on stock, abandoning the idea of children’s clothing – it would be too messy to include that in her shop. The clothing business had great potential; Chen Xiliang was just a small wholesaler now, but would be worth hundreds of millions by 2000!

Back at the guesthouse, Xia Xiaolan earnestly thanked Pan San.

“You’re Zhou Cheng’s woman, our sister-in-law. Nobody can touch you, don’t worry.”

Pan San was used to being rough; talking to a delicate young woman like Xia Xiaolan made him uncomfortable. Having to soften his voice felt like being strangled.

Kang Wei and Pan San felt quite pressured to stay there.

But they had to come – how else could they introduce Pan San to Xia Xiaolan without frightening her?

After the two men went to sleep, Bai Zhenzhu finally spoke:

“Ke Yixiong lost a lot of faces today. I’m worried about revenge, so I’ll guard your door tonight. Sleep easy.”

The guesthouse was quite basic, with doors made of thin wooden boards that could stop honest people but not criminals. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t talk Bai Zhenzhu out of standing guard, and could only tell her to be careful.

When Bai Zhenzhu opened the door, she saw Pan San smoking at the end of the hallway.

So Pan San was also worried.

“Young lady, want a smoke?”

Even a tough woman like Bai Zhenzhu was just a young lady to the truly fierce Brother Pan San.

Bai Zhenzhu shook her head, then after a while muttered to herself:

“The year my brother first went north, he wrote telling me about someone at his workplace who was at his physical peak, surnamed Pan…”

Pan San extinguished his cigarette.

“What are you trying to say? I’m just Pan San, nothing more!”

Bai Zhenzhu believed Pan San was the person White Zhiyong had mentioned. Pan San’s fighting skills, his ferocity, even the scar above his eyebrow – everything about him told a story.

Ke Yixiong didn’t attempt revenge that night, which somewhat disappointed Kang Wei.

“This guy can hold back.”

Pan San had humiliated him to provoke him into losing control. If Ke Yixiong had dared to act, Pan San naturally had other methods ready. Now though, since Ke Yixiong had forcefully endured it, Pan San considered him a coward:

“The first surge is strongest, the second weaker, the third exhausted. He didn’t dare come last night, and won’t dare have any inappropriate thoughts until he figures out your background.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know what Pan San based his judgment on, but she could only trust the professional.

They hadn’t even needed protection from Bai Zhenzhu’s two martial arts seniors. Pan San took Xia Xiaolan and Kang Wei with their goods to the station, then provocatively drove his Volonayets around Ke Yixiong’s territory. Unable to draw out the turtle-headed Ke Yixiong, Pan San left Yangcheng somewhat disappointed.

Ke Yixiong really could endure!

He used to be bold and aggressive, but now that he had some “assets,” he had something to lose.

Unlike Pan San, who dared to tread all over Ke Yixiong’s territory alone. Ke Yixiong knew his retreat would affect his authority, especially among his injured men from last night, who might already have thoughts about him.

But in that moment, Ke Yixiong had truly felt his life threatened.

Pan San wasn’t joking – he wanted to kill Ke Yixiong and had the guts to do it.

For Xia Xiaolan, these past few days had been more exciting than her previous life as an executive. When she first transmigrated, she thought her future knowledge would let her dominate, and while the 1980s were full of opportunities, those opportunities came with risks. Successful self-made businessmen only shared such details publicly later – Xia Xiaolan felt the incidents with the Zhu family and Ke Yixiong might not be isolated cases.

Xia Xiaolan still studied diligently on the train.

Though final exams had just ended days ago, her sense of urgency hadn’t diminished at all.

She needed to break free from the limitations of her background. While accumulating economic capital was important, she couldn’t abandon the path to upper society. University was a good route – it would put her in a different class from people like Ke Yixiong.

A thug taking interest in her wasn’t strange; thugs had their aesthetic preferences, and maybe they happened to like her type.

But Xia Xiaolan thought carefully – if she had arrived in Yangcheng the first time in a car, with someone fierce like Pan San as her “bodyguard,” even if Ke Yixiong had spotted her, he wouldn’t have dared approach her so casually, no matter how bold he was.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t find any of that domineering behavior charming – it made her sick to her stomach.

As Pan San said, Ke Yixiong was just using his local influence to bully an out-of-town woman he thought had no one to stand up for her.

Such men deserved a beating.

Kang Wei yawned, “Sister-in-law, you study too hard. With your grades, getting into a Beijing university would be like child’s play!”

Xia Xiaolan just smiled.

Beijing universities weren’t all the same – how could Beijing Normal College compare to Beijing Normal University?

Having decided to take the route of surrounding the lower class from above, her attitude toward this year’s college entrance exam naturally became more serious.