104. The Sober Mind's Greatest Folly

Who could have guessed that as soon as Bai Haonan stepped into the elevator, he would become a completely different person? He shoved his hands into his pockets, leaned against the corner of the cabin, and shed his fawning demeanor. "I truly don't know anything about renovation or management. Aside from some specific practices related to the fitness center itself, I don't understand the rest, nor do I have any interest in learning. You should just have someone else handle those things."

Yu Jiali was almost moved to tears of frustration. "Sigh, you really have the life of a beggar with the heart of a young master..."

Bai Haonan remained stubborn. "I promised you I would make this fitness center a success, and I will certainly put my heart into it, just as I promised to help you get fit. But what I want is for a fitness center that meets my requirements to be placed in front of me. I will manage it and act as a coach; the rest of the messy, trivial matters are not for me to worry about. I don't understand any of that, and sticking my nose into it would only mess things up. It seemed like I offended quite a few people sitting there earlier, didn't it? Don't you think that focusing only on what I do best is the definition of being professional and staying in my lane?"

On the soccer pitch, this is emphasized above all else. From the very first day a child steps onto a formal field, they must understand whether they are a forward or a defender. This sense of position stays with a player for life.

Yu Jiali leaned against the opposite corner, looking at the man a meter or two away, and suddenly had a realization. "Ah? That actually makes sense! Hey, now that you put it that way, it does have some logic. There are indeed many people who can't resist the urge to meddle in things they don't understand. Your trait of everyone doing their own job well is excellent! But... what exactly is your plan? You said your approach was unique, but surely you don't mean to end up like that soccer club, right? That was far too shabby!"

It was as if Bai Haonan had given her an excuse to convince herself, and the girl immediately brightened up.

Before Bai Haonan could respond, the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival at the underground garage. He gestured for her to step out first. "I only had you come down here to tell you this. Honestly, I thought I was coming to your office early this morning, but who knew you'd start with a meeting full of people? It wasn't the right time to talk. Just like in a match, you can't reveal your tactical intentions to everyone."

Yu Jiali felt genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't think it through." After saying this, she was surprised at how submissive she felt in their relationship.

Bai Haonan walked alongside her and pointed to his small white car nearby. "Actually, I spent a few months hanging around a gym with hundreds of pieces of equipment in Rongdu. I led a lot of people and gained quite a bit of experience, so I want to take a professional path this time. I'll tell you my thoughts, and you can see if they're viable. If not, you can still call the whole thing off right now."

Yu Jiali’s expression softened. She hummed gently while looking around, somewhat intoxicated by the feeling of the two of them walking through the quiet, empty garage.

Someone once said that parking garages are places where women easily have romantic fantasies—spacious, quiet, and possessing an air of solitude. Moreover, in contrast to the cold, lifeless machinery, Bai Haonan, this handsome man, felt exceptionally human. She subconsciously licked her lips.

Fortunately, Bai Haonan began to talk business. "Yesterday, I saw that the permit included the rooftop, and since it's quite square, I thought we should take it over and build two small artificial turf fields. I know the costs for that—a cheap one would probably cost five or six hundred thousand to finish completely—but I don't know who to hire or how to do it. I can only verify whether the final result is up to par."

Yu Jiali nodded thoughtfully. "Leave professional matters to the professionals. That's fine. Go on."

Bai Haonan opened the car door and lifted out Ada, who was wagging its tail excitedly, and headed toward a nearby trash can. "Actually, I could understand what they were saying earlier. I don't know business, but I do know that to play well, you have to have a unique edge. Even a player needs a signature move to make a name for themselves. If we open a mediocre fitness center just like everyone else's, it might be very hard to make money. I can't just train pretty girls to lose weight all day, and only someone as blind as you would be so obsessed with doing business with me..."

Far from being offended, Yu Jiali tried to reach out and pet Ada’s head. She kept dogs herself and wasn't afraid of contact. Ada faced her with a sycophantic grin, and she was pleasantly surprised. "That's so funny! It’s actually smiling!"

Bai Haonan scolded her instead. "I'm talking to you about serious business here, why are you acting so unserious?!"

Yu Jiali immediately covered her mouth and giggled, genuinely happy. "Tell me, go on, I'm listening."

Bai Haonan actually had to adapt to this situation of discussing business. "We definitely have to keep this fitness and weight-loss program, but how to promote it and what words to use is up to you to find someone to do. Also, I want to target soccer enthusiasts, especially adult ones. During this time... well, the small field you saw me standing on when you were holding the puppy, that's a gathering spot for amateur players in the provincial capital. In the last two weeks, I've realized the scale is quite large—likely thousands or even tens of thousands across the city. People who can play soccer aren't so poor they can't afford to eat. They are already adults, and it's very hard to improve their physical condition and technique. But in Rongdu, I accumulated a set of methods to improve one's physical condition in a short time. If we pull these people in for fitness, and we don't follow the high fees of personal training but charge a standard price, it shouldn't be too hard to make the fitness center's business stable and prosperous, right?"

Yu Jiali’s reaction was peculiar. "Did you really think this through seriously?!"

Bai Haonan retorted, "I'm not stupid! If this thing can really be done well, it's a real opportunity for me to change. How many blind people can you meet in a lifetime who have money to invest and are willing to do business with me? I drove around all afternoon yesterday and visited four or five amateur soccer spots in the city. Not only did I build connections, but I also learned... well, it's about the same as the market research those people were talking about in the meeting. I'm confident that we can bring in over a hundred clients by the opening day, especially since I'm still doing that skewer business..."

After finishing with Ada’s business, Bai Haonan put the dog down and let it crawl back on its own.

Yu Jiali had been watching its strange crawling gait, but now she was excited. "You really have put your heart into considering how to do this! Truly, I haven't misjudged you! As long as you are serious, you are a person who can use your brain. Look at you, look..." As she spoke, she couldn't help but grab Bai Haonan’s hand in excitement. She was no longer the calm, serious young boss from upstairs; she even seemed to have inexplicable tears in her eyes.

Though somewhat surprised by the intensity of her excitement, Bai Haonan, who understood women’s hearts well, stood still, turned around, and gently but firmly removed her soft, plump hand from his forearm. Yu Jiali was taken aback by an unexpected sense of surprise and blushed in embarrassment, perhaps wondering what Bai Haonan might do next, only to hear him say: "How poorly do you think of me? Then again, I am quite a mess, and others must be putting a lot of pressure on you. But this opportunity is too rare to waste. Just don't let me handle the money, and don't let me hit on you. If those two things go wrong, it'll be a disaster."

When Yu Jiali felt her hand being released, she still wanted to hold on. She looked up at Bai Haonan, feeling a bit breathless, and after a long moment, she managed to squeeze out, "I'm sorry!"

Bai Haonan was confused. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

Yu Jiali was acting exactly like a girl deeply in love. "I'm sorry I doubted you earlier, thinking you weren't focused and didn't take this seriously. I was complaining that you weren't treating it with heart. Now I know you are treating it in the most appropriate way—not letting other emotions affect your judgment, not taking advantage just because I don't care about the profit or loss of this investment, and not trying to curry favor with me for gain. You are the one treating this with the most professional attitude. You even know you aren't some 'Director,' you are just focusing on the part you are good at. I was wrong."

Bai Haonan, who had always been looked down upon, was actually longing for a sense of achievement and recognition. When he saved the police officer and led the factory team to victory, he felt a success he had never experienced before. Including this time, he truly wanted to do this right. Yu Jiali might be the girl who recognized him in the most professional way; at least Chen Sufen and Qiao Yingna had never given him such precise praise, and Isha was still in "servant mode" and hadn't realized she needed to switch. So, it was impossible for him not to feel something. He smiled and reached out to pat Yu Jiali’s head. "It's not that great, you are still too... well, this matter..."

To his surprise, Yu Jiali shook her head vigorously. "I haven't finished yet. Another 'sorry' is because you are facing me with all your heart, truly wanting to make this work, but during the meeting earlier, after seeing your performance, my thought was to simply use you to 'clean house' among the middle management. I had a lot of selfish motives, which makes me feel a bit ashamed compared to you. I'm sorry."

Bai Haonan widened his eyes in surprise and let out a drawn-out sound of realization. "Oh... 'clean house'?"

This girl wasn't just some naive, chubby rich kid. Actually, she looked a bit less chubby now.

The two had reached the small car. Yu Jiali squatted down to tease Ada, brushed her hair aside, and pressed a hand to her collar, whispering, "Actually, I've only been in charge of the company for two years. Many positions are still held by my father's people. It's not that they lack ability, but some are arrogant because of their past contributions, some can't keep up with new ideas and are stuck in the old ways, and others have secretly started their own businesses and are acting like parasites. Anyway, some of the decisions I make don't necessarily get full support, so I naturally have to replace some people with my own. That's how corporate management works. My father supports me, but he can't personally fire people who have worked alongside him for years, so he treats this as training for me. I originally thought your somewhat rough working style could help me handle these things."

The cunning Bai Haonan understood instantly and squatted down, laughing. "I get it. When a coach changes, they try to replace the players with their own people as much as possible. You want me to play the bad guy?"

Yu Jiali felt Ada licking her fingers and said gently, "Something like that. If you don't want to work here, that's fine. Now that I know you will use your heart to make the fitness center a success, I will choose to trust you completely. I’m the one who didn't firmly believe in my own investment. I really owe you an apology!"

Bai Haonan understood. "You’re still thinking with a woman’s heart, and right now it's just coming in waves. If you flip your mood again later, you might think I'm nothing again. Your heart is in chaos. How can you get things done like this? Little comrade, your resistance to emotional turmoil is very poor."

Yu Jiali felt her eyes welling up and muttered, "What can I do? Just looking at you makes my heart chaotic..."

Bai Haonan didn't try to flirt. "How about this: if you allow me to bring Ada to work, I'll come over for half a day every day to help you play the bad guy. You can pay me whatever salary you want, is that okay? That's just who I am. Once you get used to it, it probably won't feel so novel anymore."

Yu Jiali was pleasantly surprised. "Really?"

Bai Haonan nodded. "Didn't I tell you? Back at the club, when I was with the head coach, I was basically just helping him play the villain. I don't know anything else, but I'm best at playing the guy who makes people happy and annoyed at the same time."

The girl, still squatting, was so happy she giggled and sat directly on the ground. "Good! That's really good!"

Bai Haonan sighed. "Your skirt, your skirt is riding up. I can already see what color it is..."

The girl immediately covered the hem of her straight skirt in a flurry of shyness.

The gap between them in the game of men and women was too vast.

It was a total, undulating collapse.