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Having reached the shore, Sui Yi dared not return directly to her residence, but she was not afraid of any news spreading at the moment, because it had only been one night. According to official habits, private matters were often resolved quietly behind the scenes rather than being urgently exposed to disrupt public life.
Thus, the public was completely unaware of what had occurred last night in Nanxun Ancient Town, unless the media had received some news.
However, last night... was genuinely bizarre, and perhaps even the police were left in the fog.
Sui Yi weighed her options and eventually made a decision.
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Yantang Studio, the young man on duty, Zhou Ran, instinctively shouted upon seeing someone enter, "Welcome, Miss..."
His voice halted there. He looked at Sui Yi, lost his focus for a moment, and made Sui Yi instantly think her cover was blown. However, what puzzled her was that Zhou Ran quickly leaned in and asked doubtfully, "You... are you Sui Yi?"
"Am I that hard to recognize?" Sui Yi pursed her lips and turned her face away to scan the interior of the shop, seemingly looking for someone.
"Uh, no, it's just that you're not in your school uniform, so suddenly..."
Zhou Ran knew Sui Yi fairly well, though he had just graduated from university, majoring in antique appraisal, and was still studying for his appraisal certification. If he succeeded, he could officially become a pawn appraisal master and continue in this field.
His situation was entirely different from Sui Yi, who did odd jobs in shops, and considering he was seven or eight years older, he regarded Sui Yi as a junior. He knew this little sister was quite attractive, but...
He hadn't expected such a transformation just by changing clothes.
Is it the clothes that make the person? But it was just a soft white T-shirt and light blue casual capris!
How could she have changed so much?
With a height of 1.6 meters, she was slender and thin. Her skin was as delicate and pale as milky jade porcelain, glowing radiantly and transparently, with not a pore in sight. Her face was plain, but her delicate features were like carved ice. When she was silent and indifferent, her eyelashes shimmered with a faint light, perhaps reluctant to move away.
Zhou Ran's gaze was a bit odd. After Sui Yi glanced at him, he came back to his senses, scratching his head awkwardly, "Today is my shift. Why did you come over... right, you started school yesterday, you should have classes today... it's already nine in the morning, you..."
"I'm not feeling well, so I took a leave. I will go later," Sui Yi, seeing Zhou Ran's reaction, knew that things hadn't escalated too far and pressed her brow lightly, speaking calmly, "Where's the shopkeeper?"
"He's..."
"I'm right here."
Elder Tang came out from the inner hall. His gaze flickered a few times upon seeing Sui Yi.
"You're back..."
"Elder Tang thought I wouldn't make it back?"
Sui Yi looked at him, walked into the tea room, her slender back visible. Underneath her capris were fragile white ankles, delicate enough to be encompassed by a hand. She moved beyond the screen, her figure flitting away like a beautiful woman in a misty drizzle.
Since ancient times, scholars have said that the Jiangnan rain is like ink that can embellish a splendid landscape with a flick of the sleeve, yet they don't realize that a beauty is like the moon and wine, a dab of red makeup can drown all the mundane cares.
Zhou Ran was lost in thought again, and Elder Tang chuckled, "You only just realized how pretty the girl is? Keep an eye on the shop for me!"
With a pat on his head, Elder Tang, hands behind his back, walked slowly into the room, closing the door.
Inside, Sui Yi had already sat down.
"I was really startled when I heard the news, I didn't expect Hei Pi to be so audacious... he almost got you," Elder Tang sighed.
Sui Yi placed her palm on the wooden table, feeling its texture, her expression somewhat gentle, "Elder Tang has good relations with the police, you're quite informed..."
"Regarding you, I naturally had to put some effort into managing our relationship. That's how I came to know about your incident last night... But the police told me you were harmed by Hei Pi and went missing. Today, you…"
"Maybe I just got lucky..." Sui Yi didn't plan to say much because with people like Elder Tang, the more you say, the more he probes, endlessly, almost squeezing everything out of your brain.
Clearly, the events of last night were indeed bizarre.
But she didn't plan to delve into it; it was better to be straightforward...
"Ah yes, that indeed is good luck," Elder Tang chuckled with delight, holding his teacup like a Maitreya Buddha, seemingly very pleased with Sui Yi's escape from danger.
However, his expression quickly stiffened when he heard Sui Yi say a sentence.
"Elder Tang, don't you plan to give me the rest of the money?"
"Uh... although this matter has put you through trouble, it was Hei Pi's fault for not following the rules; it wasn't part of our agreement. Technically, since the goods were not delivered, I should take back that thousand, but considering it as a work-related injury, let it be..."
Sui Yi, already knowing this man was a stingy miser, wasn't angry but merely poured herself a cup of tea and softly said, "The goods weren't delivered? Isn't there an extra bag of goods? Elder Tang really loves to joke."
Why did Hei Pi despise her so? It was none other than Elder Tang who informed the police, secretly using her to attract attention and framing Hei Pi, pushing him into a corner, then also tipped off a group to intercept Hei Pi on the waterway, steal the goods, and blacklisted him at the police station. If Hei Pi got caught by the police, that would be killing two birds with one stone!
A case of using the underworld against itself!
But, they didn't expect Hei Pi to escape!
And he harbored resentment toward Sui Yi, perhaps considering her to be one of them, decidedly thinking it was she who managed the waterway; surely, it was also her arrangement, so...
Sui Yi ended up caught in the crossfire!
She nearly lost her life!
It must be said, her ability to sit here and talk calmly with Elder Tang instead of smashing a teapot on his head showed extraordinary composure.
Elder Tang's face showed a slight change, he inspected Sui Yi with more detail, his eyes a bit strange. After a while, he rubbed his palms together and with a sheepish smile said, "Sui Yi, where did you hear such a thing..."
"What did I say? I haven't said anything yet... Elder Tang," Sui Yi responded, gazing steadily at Elder Tang, her eyes as dark and profound as the night, locking onto a speck of starlight, the stars motionless, making the person being watched too fearful to move!
Elder Tang was paralyzed! Unable to move!
It was a threat! She was threatening him!
There was no need for evidence; if she were so inclined, just a few words spread across this little plot of land in Nanxun would suffice. Forget about dealings on the Dark Side, even the legitimate businesses wouldn't dare to engage with Yantang Studio afterward.
Such a tarnished reputation would be hard to recover.
Businessmen dread this the most.
The atmosphere was solemn, and after a brief pause, Elder Tang softly said, "Since you know all this and still dared to come to me, just for two thousand yuan?"
"An eye for an eye; assisting others comes with the risk of being exploited and betrayed. I don't wish to pursue past matters, just this business deal. The goods, you have already received; the transaction was successful, and now I should get my part,"
Elder Tang was not looking at Sui Yi for the first or second time with newfound respect, nor was it the first or second time he said this phrase: "Sui Yi, have you ever felt that you really are a very strange person?"
"Strange means abnormal, different from others. But since everyone in the world is different, nobody really has the right to call others strange…" Sui Yi recalled how as a child in the orphanage, she was collectively called a monster by other children, which made her feel somewhat uneasy, her demeanor growing colder.
Noticing the change, Elder Tang dropped the subject, his face wrinkling with a smile: "Since you think I'm the type to boldly betray, how can you be so sure I'd simply let you threaten me? You should know, our cooperation isn't legal, there's no contract. Not paying you wouldn't be wrong~~~ and if I decided to stop you from saying these things, it really wouldn't be difficult..."
Those who betray are by nature deceitful, growing darker by the day!