I was pacing outside, restless, when the bathroom door opened, and Xiao Cui emerged, wearing her pajamas, her face flushed.
I stepped closer and took a deep sniff—she smelled wonderful.
Xiao Cui shyly pushed me away with her hand and said, "Don't!"
Her words made everything worse. As soon as she spoke, I couldn't hold back any longer. In just a few moments, I quickly took a shower and got into bed, turning off the lights.
Xiao Cui, like a frightened little deer, was soon covered by me, who felt like a large tiger. But strangely, as soon as I pressed against her, the moment my heartbeat matched hers, my eyelids became heavy and before I knew it, I fell asleep.
The next morning, when I woke up and remembered what had happened the night before, my brow furrowed. Did something go wrong? I quickly checked under the blanket, but thankfully, everything was just as usual, and I felt energetic as always.
Xiao Cui was already up. I changed clothes, tossed the dirty ones into the washing machine, and headed to the living room.
Since Huang Xian'er was leaving, I didn't go to the shop in the morning and instead treated myself to a big meal.
In the afternoon, I received a call from Zhan Ling. She told me that Director Qian couldn't raise the money and had called Mr. Jiang. Mr. Jiang was very angry.
I felt a chill run down my spine. In our line of work, money is something we must never owe, let alone to someone like Mr. Jiang.
I immediately told Zhan Ling to come to the shop, and I'd transfer the money to Mr. Jiang right away.
Huang Xian'er would leave by nightfall, so I decided to let Huang Jiu accompany her for a walk and enjoy some time alone together.
Zhan Ling arrived at the shop soon after, and since the bank was still open, I used a special method to transfer the money into her account.
Once we left the bank, I let out a sigh of relief. "When you give the money to Mr. Jiang, tell him you got it from Director Qian."
Zhan Ling nodded.
Of course, such tricks wouldn't fool Mr. Jiang, but he was just looking for a way to vent his anger, so I believed he wouldn't make things difficult for me.
I thought for a moment and added, "Also, tell Director Qian that Shen Weiguo's family secretly paid the money."
Zhan Ling looked at me incredulously. "This is a million. If you say that, you won't be able to get it back."
"Shen Weiguo had his reasons, and I have mine. I originally wanted to teach him a lesson..." I winced as I spoke. "But now, I guess I'll take care of this debt for him. I hope he can reconcile with Director Qian."
Zhan Ling understood what I meant and reminded me, "In today's world, it's not easy to be a good person."
I replied, "Don't keep lecturing me. If you keep going, I'll regret it."
Zhan Ling giggled and hopped around playfully.
I couldn't help but watch as her eyes bounced around.
Zhan Ling, noticing that I wasn't angry, leaned in closer, giving me a mischievous wink, and asked, "How about we find a place, so I can make sure you see clearly?"
My face turned red, and I quickly shifted my gaze.
Zhan Ling smiled coquettishly and said, "Just kidding. Your wife is waiting for you."
I glanced over at Xiao Cui, who was standing a little awkwardly by herself.
I said to Zhan Ling, "Sister Ling, I'll leave this to you."
"Bye-bye!" Zhan Ling waved and walked toward the off-road vehicle parked at the curb.
I took Xiao Cui's hand and led her back to the shop.
The streets were bustling with people, and the shops on both sides displayed a variety of goods. During Huang Xian'er's stay, Xiao Cui's wardrobe had been filled to the brim, and I hadn't even thought about buying her anything.
When we returned to the shop, night was beginning to fall.
We were drinking tea when Huang Jiu came out of the back room. Without saying a word, it jumped onto the tea table and awkwardly danced for a moment before saying, "Oh yeah, the old witch is gone, oh yeah!"
If Xiao Cui hadn't been laughing so hard, I would've kicked Huang Jiu out of sheer frustration.
After finishing its awkward dance, Huang Jiu wiped the excitement off its face and said, "I'm not going back tonight. I'm going out to have some fun."
When Huang Xian'er wasn't around, Huang Jiu would often stay out all night.
But after spending so much time with Huang Xian'er, I felt the need to remind it: "Brother Huang, Sister Xian'er treated you well. You need to have some self-control. If anything goes wrong, I won't be able to help you."
"Don't worry. I'm just going to hang out with some brothers and see if they've made any progress!" Huang Jiu suddenly became serious.
I couldn't tell if it was telling the truth or just making an excuse, but if anything shady happened, I knew Huang Xian'er would have no trouble dealing with it.
I didn't say anything more.
Huang Jiu left with a carefree swagger.
Around 8 p.m., I closed the shop and prepared to go home with Xiao Cui.
But as we passed by Old Song's shop, I saw a man standing still in front of the door, holding an old, black umbrella. He didn't move.
I stopped and tightened my grip on Xiao Cui's hand.
It's said that people who walk around with these old, black umbrellas at night or noon are rarely alive.
As I got closer, I activated my spiritual eyes and had already made up my mind: If he was a living person, I would ask him to come back in a few days to meet Old Song. If he wasn't alive, I'd pretend I didn't see him.
When I opened my spiritual eyes to the first level, I sensed his vitality. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to him, asking, "Excuse me, are you looking for Boss Song?"
The man slowly turned around.
His movements were stiff, like a mannequin on an automatic turntable at a clothing store. His body rotated completely to face me.
Due to the black umbrella, I could only see his chin, but he didn't look very old.
"I lost something. I felt it ran over here. Have you seen it?" A cold voice came from under the umbrella.
Something? Running?
I quickly replied, "I haven't seen anything like that. I thought you were here to buy something. Sorry to bother you."
As I spoke, I grabbed Xiao Cui's hand and turned to leave.
But just as I turned around, the black umbrella tilted slightly, and a face fully emerged from under it.
I froze for a moment, almost calling out Hu Wenhui's name.
But when I looked closely, I realized it wasn't him—though the man looked almost exactly like him.
I quickly protected Xiao Cui, forcing a smile at the man, and hurriedly led Xiao Cui away.
We walked far enough that the young man was still standing in the same spot, staring at us.
The feeling made me feel uneasy, like there were needles on my back. I quickly turned into a narrow alley.
Once I couldn't see him anymore, I let out a long breath.
I didn't have to think to know that this man must be connected to Hu Wenhui in some way.
Calming myself down, I called Hu Wenhui. After hearing the situation, he urgently asked, "Did the girl Miaolian come to see you?"
"Yes, she came," I replied.
Upon hearing this, Hu Wenhui sighed in relief. "Keep her safe. The person you saw is from my family. He's here to find Miaolian. Li Yang, you must protect her. She's extremely important to me."
My head was spinning. With Huang Xian'er leaving, the people I had offended before were bound to resurface. And now, there was yet another one to deal with.