“Yijing, forget it. I don’t need you guys for now. I have my own arrangements.”
The shadowy figure replied coldly.
The three of them immediately turned and left, not daring to linger, knowing they’d just get yelled at again if they stayed.
“What’s this young master’s deal? Why go to all this trouble? If he really likes that girl, he should just pursue her directly. Trying to pull some ‘hero saving the beauty’ stunt—isn’t that cliché?”
“Who knows? But I heard he tried chasing her before and failed, so he’s resorting to other methods. Rich people are just weird. With his money, he could find any girl he wants at a high-end club. Why waste time on this one? So boring.”
The blond lowered his voice and whispered.
“No kidding. Good thing we didn’t get hit; otherwise, we’d have to pay the medical bills ourselves.”
“Let’s go, let’s go. Don’t let him hear us.”
Gu Chen had no idea that the so-called conflict had been targeting Chu Xiaomeng all along.
Back then, she’d just casually complained about it.
After playing outside all day, her whole body ached.
So she went straight home.
School started tomorrow, and she needed to rest up.
Next week was important.
Because of the monthly exam, the workload would definitely increase.
Plus, she’d offended the English teacher, so she’d probably get some subtle retaliation.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
“Hey, Dad, what wind blew you home this early?”
After opening the door.
Gu Chen was surprised to find that her dad had gotten home before her.
Normally, he worked until late at night.
“Ha, how could that be? You’re not wishing me dead, are you?”
Dad teased directly.
“I’m just a little surprised.”
Gu Chen smiled.
She was in a good mood today, so she didn’t bicker with him.
Instead, she sat down on the sofa and massaged his shoulders.
“Guo Laoban eased up for now. The online shop can keep running. As long as we ship the orders on time every day, it’s not so busy.”
“Nice. How’s business?”
Gu Chen wasn’t sure about the profits, but judging by Dad’s relaxed look, it couldn’t be bad.
“It’s okay. Sales have stabilized. As long as we keep at it, it’s definitely better than being a workhorse.”
Dad smiled and began planning for the future.
“Anyway, by the time you finish the Gaokao this year, we should have enough for your college tuition. If you work a bit harder, I could even support you studying abroad.”
“Studying abroad?”
Gu Chen shook her head.
She laughed bitterly.
“Forget it. These days, students who go abroad don’t have a great reputation. I don’t want to be misunderstood.”
It wasn’t like a few decades ago, when it was a real plus.
Now it’s a minus.
Too many slackers gilded themselves overseas—the value’s gone.
“True. If you ever go on a blind date, the first thing they’ll ask is for a medical checkup, haha.”
Dad joked along.
“Cough, why are we talking about that?”
Gu Chen’s expression shifted.
If it had been before, it wouldn’t have mattered.
But ever since her body changed, she really didn’t want to think about it.
Physically, she was female now, but mentally she couldn’t accept it.
It was tough.
Dad realized what he’d said and nodded.
Looking at her, the money he earned could serve as either a bride price or a dowry—seemed like it would work either way.
Even in America, she’d be a minority.
“Alright, enough of that.”
After chatting for a bit, Gu Chen went back to her room to rest.
The first thing she did was message Ivy to ask how things were going.
She knew it wouldn’t be easy to get the evidence in just a day or two.
But Ivy’s visa had limited time, so honestly, she wasn’t holding out much hope.
Just treating it like a shot in the dark.
“Strange, why hasn’t she replied?”
After sending the message, there was no response for a few minutes.
Gu Chen figured she was busy with the training and couldn’t check her phone all the time, but she still couldn’t help feeling anxious.
Finally, night fell.
Streetlights illuminated the whole neighborhood.
Dad finished making dinner.
Gu Chen ate a little and then went back to her room to check for messages.
“Did something happen?”
It had been over an hour.
Even if she was busy, she should have seen the message by now.
The more Gu Chen thought about it, the more scared she got.
She wanted to call and ask, but worried Ivy might be doing something else.
After going back and forth, she was afraid Ivy would think she was worrying for nothing.
“Should I go over there?”
Just as she hesitated, she heard the doorbell ring.
Who could it be so late?
“Click—”
Gu Chen’s eyes widened.
Opening the door, a tall, familiar figure stood before her.
Gu Chen was stunned.
Why was she back all of a sudden?
She got out of bed.
Dad was washing dishes in the kitchen; the water heater was running, so he probably didn’t hear anything.
“Ivy!?”
“Gu Chen, I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
The girl waved, her gem-like eyes blinking.
“No, come on in.”
Ivy nodded and dragged her suitcase inside.
“What’s up? Didn’t pass the training?”
Seeing her bring her stuff back, Gu Chen was puzzled.
Guo Laoban had put a lot of effort into getting her this opportunity.
To be back in just one day was surprising.
Or maybe she was found out as a mole and kicked out?
“Training hasn’t even started. Anyway, I wasn’t interested in it. Mission complete, so I came back.”
Ivy put down her things and sat on the sofa to explain.
“Okay, no problem. As long as you’re safe, we can do the mission anot— Wait…!!?~”
At first, Gu Chen didn’t react.
She assumed the mission had failed, so she didn’t feel entitled to blame her.
Having her safe was enough; gratitude was still necessary.
But then she realized she might have misheard.
She nearly dropped the cup she was about to hand over!
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Ivy in disbelief and asked again:
“You… what did you just say?”
“I said I’m not interested in livestreaming?”
Gu Chen made a stop gesture, still in disbelief.
“No—what did you mean by ‘mission complete’?”
In one day, she already found the evidence?
She couldn’t have exchanged more than a few words with Guo Laoban!
Unless Ivy knew some legendary hypnosis that made people obey her every word—otherwise, there was no way it happened that fast.
Gu Chen had thought even accomplishing it before the visa expired would be a miracle.
“Didn’t you ask me to find evidence of his tax evasion? I already got it. It should all be on this hard drive.”
With that, Ivy took something out of her bag and set it on the table.
Gu Chen was completely speechless.
Trembling, she picked up the device.
For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.
Frowning, she asked: “Wait, are you sure it’s the real thing? You weren’t tricked, were you?”
Guo Laoban was a sly fox.
Even Long Fei had tried everything and failed to get any key evidence…