Chapter 82: How About I Be Your Girlfriend?

A blood-curdling scream echoed from the bathroom. Lin Xue had always been decisive and ruthless, but this time she went even further—nunchucks in hand and a plastic bag ready, she mercilessly kicked Yao Ye right in the ass!

As Lin Xue stepped out of the bathroom, the police had already arrived at the door.

She grabbed the hidden phone that had been secretly recording from beside the TV and handed it to the officers. The footage clearly showed Yao Ye entering the room with the intention of sexually assaulting Lin Xue. The evidence was undeniable, leaving Yao Ye no room for excuses.

Yao Ye was taken to the hospital because Lin Xue had hit him so hard that he was bleeding nonstop.

As the ambulance and police car drove away, Shui Miao and Chu Miaoyi stood there speechless.

The plan to deal with Yao Ye and secretly record him had been Shui Miao’s idea, but he never expected Lin Xue to use nunchucks and kick Yao Ye so brutally. Seeing how Yao Ye was walking away, even Shui Miao felt like his own ass was sore.

Chu Miaoyi was too embarrassed to speak, but deep down she felt a sense of relief. Finally, they had given Yao Ye a well-deserved lesson. Now, let’s see if he dared to act arrogant again.

Lin Xue turned around, patted Shui Miao on the shoulder, and gave him a thumbs-up. “Little Shui, your idea was brilliant! I’ve never liked that Yao Ye. Now that we’ve taken him down, he not only has no chance to retaliate, but he’s also facing legal trouble. This is just too satisfying!”

“Sis, remember, Yao Ye has powerful connections.”

Chu Miaoyi couldn’t help but voice her concern. Yao Ye’s arrogance came from his uncle Yao Jun, a high-ranking official in the provincial bureau. With such a serious incident, Yao Jun would definitely get involved.

“Yes, Lin Jie, I think someone like Yao Ye, who hides behind powerful connections, is really hard to deal with. Either we finish him off completely and eliminate the threat forever, or we should just stay away from him. As the saying goes, dealing with a petty person is always tricky.”

Shui Miao shared her concern. While Lin Xue was indeed fearless, Chu Miaoyi was delicate and vulnerable. If Yao Ye decided to take it out on her, things could get complicated.

“Finish him off completely? That’s actually a great idea!” Lin Xue’s eyes lit up. “Little Shui, I’m starting to think you’re really smart! How about becoming my strategist?”

“Sis, you can’t be serious! Killing someone means taking responsibility for murder!” Chu Miaoyi was shocked, thinking Lin Xue was actually considering killing Yao Ye.

Lin Xue grinned. “You silly girl, do you really think I’m that dumb? Of course I wouldn’t kill him myself. I was just thinking about letting some friends inside the jail give him a warm welcome. Anyway, enough talk. Let’s go back to Shui Miao’s place to check those antiques. If everything looks fine, we should head back. Something doesn’t feel right about Wang Yong bringing the Five Directions Plate to Zhonghai. That doesn’t make sense.”

“I agree. But my father says Wang Yong pretends to be careless, yet he’s actually very calculating. We must be cautious with the Five Directions Plate.”

Shui Miao was curious. “What exactly is the Five Directions Plate? Do either of you know what it looks like?”

“No idea. We’ve only heard about it. Probably some ancient plate-shaped artifact,” Chu Miaoyi shook her head. “This case is strange. The information we received was minimal. All we know is that the Five Directions Plate was an artifact left behind by Zuo Ci, a famous figure from the Three Kingdoms era.”

“Zuo Ci? Isn’t he the immortal from Eastern Wu?”

Shui Miao was surprised. If that were true, the Five Directions Plate would be priceless.

“Come on, forget about immortals and legends. It’s probably just some jade plate. Nothing special,” Lin Xue waved her hand dismissively, glancing at the sky. “Alright, let’s stop chatting here. Let’s check those antiques and, if everything’s fine, we can head back to Huanghai before dark.”

“Then let’s go…”

Shui Miao turned and hailed a taxi.

Yet deep inside, he was intrigued by this mysterious Five Directions Plate.

Back at the rented apartment, Shui Miao immediately brought out the suitcase for Lin Xue and Chu Miaoyi to examine. The three of them crouched down and inspected every piece carefully, but found nothing suspicious.

Lin Xue put down one of the ceramic items and sighed. “As expected, all of these are fakes. Worth only a few bucks each. Good for decoration or holding plants. We’ve been tricked by Wang Yong. The real treasure must still be at his house.”

“But we’ve already searched his house thoroughly. There was no real antique there—everything was fake,” Chu Miaoyi added. “We even set up surveillance around his place, but Wang Yong has been staying low for years, never going out. We haven’t noticed him meeting anyone suspicious.”

“We’ll keep digging then. If we have to, we’ll tear his house down. I’m sure that stubborn Wang Yong is hiding the Five Directions Plate somewhere,” Lin Xue said casually.

Chu Miaoyi pouted. That idea was clearly unrealistic. Without any evidence, how could they just demolish someone’s house?

“Digging…”

Shui Miao suddenly had a thought. “Right! Why has Wang Yong been staying in that house all the time? He used to be a tomb robber, and tomb robbers are experts at digging. He probably buried the treasure underground. If that’s the case, where would he hide it?”

Shui Miao got lost in thought.

Seeing him deep in thought, Lin Xue gave Chu Miaoyi a knowing look.

After a pause, Chu Miaoyi asked, “Little Shui, did you think of something?”

“Not really. I was just wondering where he might have hidden it,” Shui Miao replied. In his heart, he was certain that Wang Yong had buried the Five Directions Plate somewhere underground. He planned to investigate later, checking whether there was a basement or a sophisticated drainage system at Wang Yong’s house. Once he figured that out, he could find the plate.

Friendship aside, Shui Miao decided to keep this thought to himself for now.

Seeing his vague answer, Chu Miaoyi sighed and stood up. “It seems like we won’t find any clues for now. Sis, let’s go back first. Little Shui, if you think of anything, contact us immediately.” She looked at Shui Miao and prepared to leave.

Shui Miao stood up and nodded.

Lin Xue, slightly frustrated, turned and walked away.

Shui Miao escorted them to the street and saw them off in the car. Although he felt reluctant to part with Chu Miaoyi, reality was harsh. He had no reason to ask her to stay. What was the point of thinking too much? He could only try to distract himself and suppress the growing affection he felt for her.

It was strange—it was already noon, but Liu Hongmei wasn’t home. Where could she have gone?

Shui Miao wasn’t thinking about her romantically. It was just that she had always seemed so eager and suddenly disappearing felt odd.

※※※

Inside the taxi:

“Lin Jie, it seems like we can’t find any clues from Shui Miao. What should we do next? Should we just go back to Huanghai?” Chu Miaoyi asked Lin Xue, who had been deep in thought since getting into the car.

Lin Xue was known for her sharp observation skills.

She shook her head slightly. “I don’t think so. I feel like the key to solving this case lies with Shui Miao. Didn’t you notice how he wasn’t telling the whole truth? I saw his eyes light up—he must have figured something out, but he’s keeping it to himself.”

“I didn’t notice that,” Chu Miaoyi frowned.

Lin Xue paused, then said, “Let’s stay a bit longer and observe. Even if we leave, we should leave behind a contact to keep an eye on Shui Miao.”

“I understand, Master. Driver, please turn around and take us back to where we got on.”

Chu Miaoyi knew Lin Xue well—they had grown up together.

“There’s no need to rush. I’ve already planted a bug in his room.”

Lin Xue placed a small earpiece in her ear. As long as she was within five hundred meters, she could hear everything happening inside Shui Miao’s room.

※※※

When Shui Miao returned to Liu Hongmei’s house and reached the third-floor corridor, he ran into a girl in her late teens who worked at a nightclub. He recognized her—her name was Xiao Rong, and he had heard from his sister Chenxiang that she was friendly. She had chatted with Chenxiang before. Seeing Shui Miao, she stopped and said shyly, “Hi, the landlady asked me to tell you that the food is ready, and the door isn’t locked.”

“Oh… thanks!”

Shui Miao was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Liu Hongmei to care about him.

Not knowing what else to say, he nodded and walked toward his rented room.

Xiao Rong, seeing that Shui Miao didn’t ask about Liu Hongmei, quickly added, “She wasn’t feeling well and went to the hospital. Aren’t you going to check on her?”

“Why would I? I’m not her boyfriend,” Shui Miao replied, though he was curious in his heart—why had Liu Hongmei gone to the hospital? Could it be related to the Five Elements energy he had transferred into her?

Hearing this, Xiao Rong smiled. “I knew it! The others must have been lying. How could someone as sweet as Chenxiang have a brother who likes an older woman?”

She seemed eager to chat with him.

As the saying goes, fellow townspeople meeting feels like tears of joy.

Shui Miao suddenly felt like chatting with Xiao Rong too. He smiled and said, “Since we’re from the same town, why don’t you come in and sit for a while?”

“Sure!”

Xiao Rong accepted happily, clearly excited to talk with him.

Shui Miao opened the door, took out some coffee he had bought earlier, and began brewing it.

Xiao Rong was simple and sincere. She considered Chenxiang a sister and Shui Miao like an older brother. After sitting on the sofa for a while, she went into the kitchen and started chatting with Shui Miao in their local dialect, “Big Brother Shui Miao, where’s Chenxiang? I haven’t seen her around these past few days.”

“She went to help at a friend’s dog farm. I’ll bring her back to visit you when she’s free,” Shui Miao replied casually. But in his heart, he was reluctant to let his sister spend time with Xiao Rong. He believed most women who worked at nightclubs were fallen women.

But then he thought, hadn’t he himself become a fallen man?

“This job isn’t by choice,” Xiao Rong said softly. “If it weren’t for my father’s illness and the debts I owe, I wouldn’t be working at the nightclub. I could have found a job I liked. Big Brother Shui Miao, do you look down on me?”

Shui Miao felt a little awkward. “Don’t say that. We’re both from humble backgrounds. You’re working there out of necessity. Besides, there are many kinds of jobs at nightclubs…”

“Yes, yes!” Before Shui Miao could finish, Xiao Rong waved her hands. “I’m not one of those who sell their bodies. I just serve tea and water.” Her meaning was clear—she was still pure and hadn’t gone that far.

She was eager to explain this because she feared being judged.

“If you’re just serving tea and water, the salary must be pretty low,” Shui Miao said thoughtfully, suddenly gaining more respect for her. “Then why not try working at a hotel instead? It’s still youth-based work, but the environment is completely different. There are fewer dangerous people there. I think you know what I mean.”

“Yes, I know!”

Xiao Rong nodded. “But I really need money to help my family pay off debts. By the way, Big Brother Shui Miao, do you have a girlfriend?”

The sudden question caught Shui Miao off guard.

“No…”

He shook his head, wondering what she was getting at.

“Then… will you be my boyfriend?”

“What?”

Shui Miao was stunned. Did he hear that right? How could Xiao Rong say something like this?

“Big Brother Shui Miao, please don’t misunderstand. It’s just that…” Xiao Rong blushed deeply. “A gangster boss came to the club and specifically asked for me to… spend the night with him… I don’t like him. I hate him. So I want to find a boyfriend… to give my first time to…”

“Alright, no need to say more. You shouldn’t work at the nightclub anymore. I have a friend who runs a small restaurant. I’ll arrange for you to work there. How much does your family owe? I’ll help you borrow the money first. You can repay me when you have it.”

Shui Miao stood up and went into the room to grab his phone to call Chen Bing and arrange a job for Xiao Rong.

But when he came back out, Xiao Rong had already taken off her top, revealing her pure white body. Blushing, she looked at him and said softly, “Big Brother Shui Miao, I don’t want to burden you. I want to repay the debt with my own strength. My body is still clean…”

She lowered her head again, her voice barely a whisper as she finished the last sentence.