Chapter 255: Repaying a Favor?

Qi Xia smirked and slowly walked over.

Qin Dingdong and the man in front of her were clearly at a standstill, lacking only a final push.

“Brother, though I feel bad for you, you have no choice,” Qi Xia said to the man from Sichuan. “If you don’t do as she says, I’ll start a fight with you right here.”

“You think you can take me, you idiot?” The man gritted his teeth, glaring at Qi Xia.

“I don’t need to beat you,” Qi Xia sneered. “Do you really think that once I make a move, there won’t be an endless stream of allies coming to help me?”

The man felt a chill down his spine at those words. He knew Qi Xia wasn’t wrong.

Right now, he was like a truck overturned on the roadside—once the first person dared to loot, countless others would follow.

After a long moment of weighing the pros and cons, the man finally spat out two words: “Fine…”

He lowered his head and pulled two fans from his bag. “Little sister, let me make this clear. If you dare go back on your word after I give you these fans, I won’t hesitate to kill both of you, even if it costs me my life.”

Qin Dingdong’s expression darkened, and she turned to look at Qi Xia.

Her original plan was to carry out the scam until the very end—was escaping in the second round really the best move?

“Of course, brother,” Qi Xia nodded. “If you don’t make it out this time, I’ll stand here and let you beat me to death.”

The Sichuan man showed no reaction, but Qin Dingdong couldn’t take it anymore. “You—”

“Come here, I need to talk to you,” Qi Xia said to her.

Qin Dingdong hesitated, then nodded and took three steps to his side.

Qi Xia pulled her aside and whispered, “Get out now.”

“What?” Qin Dingdong lowered her voice. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve already failed. Leaving now is your best option.”

“You—you want me to escape right now?”

“Qin Dingdong, have you ever played this game before?” Qi Xia asked.

“No,” Qin Dingdong shook her head. “I’ve only heard about it.”

“I don’t think you’ll get a better chance to escape later,” Qi Xia mused. “Leaving now maximizes your gains.”

Qin Dingdong calculated the potential profit. Aside from the two fans needed for pairing, she’d still have four left—twenty “dao.” While the earnings were already great, human nature was such that no one would ever be satisfied when there was a chance for more.

“Qi Xia, I don’t want to run,” Qin Dingdong said. “I can still take more…”

“You should value your life more. Your scams aren’t just clumsy—they’ll make you countless enemies,” Qi Xia said. “If you swindle all this man’s fans and stay here, you’ll become the new ‘rich person.’ Everyone will turn on you. What then?”

“I—I can have you protect me.”

“There are dozens of people here,” Qi Xia said. “What are the odds I’d risk my life for you?”

Qin Dingdong fell silent.

“Besides… I can’t pair up with you to leave,” Qi Xia glanced around cautiously. “I want more than you do.”

“What…?”

“So take this chance and go,” Qi Xia said. “Since you gave me three ‘dao,’ I’ll help you one last time.”

Qin Dingdong carefully considered his words. She knew he wasn’t lying, yet something told her this was all part of his scheme.

After a brief pause, she returned to the Sichuan man and said, “Brother, I have to confess something.”

The man’s face darkened instantly. “Little sister… choose your next words carefully.”

“I have,” Qin Dingdong nodded. “Originally… I was planning to deceive you again, but I don’t want to anymore. This time, I’ll actually put in the fans.”

The man gave her a wary look. “Then why haven’t you done it?”

“I’ve decided I want three fans,” Qin Dingdong said seriously. “Two aren’t enough for me. Three—just give me three, and I swear—”

Before she could finish, the man lunged and grabbed her throat. “Motherf— you really have a death wish…”

“Hey!” Qi Xia’s eyes turned cold as he stepped forward, gripping the man’s arm. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what to do.

Despite his earlier bold words, a fight now would be disastrous for both sides.

Whether Qi Xia tried to rob him or the man killed Qin Dingdong here, the “participants” would spiral out of control.

“Qin Dingdong, what are you doing…?” Qi Xia asked in confusion. “Why not just leave with two fans?”

“No…” Qin Dingdong gritted her teeth. “I want three…”

Qi Xia had never imagined the girl could be this greedy. He’d laid out the perfect path for her—why was she making a sudden turn?

“Fine then…” Qi Xia turned his focus back to the Sichuan man. “Brother, if you don’t let go, I’ll have to take your fans by force.”

“What the— you—”

“I’ll count to three,” Qi Xia said coldly. “In three seconds, one of us is going down.”

The man’s expression twisted as he tried to gauge Qi Xia’s resolve.

“One… two…”

Before “three” could leave Qi Xia’s lips, the man released his grip.

As the saying goes, the barefooted fear no shoes. Qi Xia only had three fans—he could afford to lose. The Sichuan man couldn’t.

“Three… fans…” the man hissed. “You two are really pushing your luck.”

“Yes or no?” Qi Xia cut in. “I don’t want to hear complaints.”

The man thought for a moment. “Fine… but this is the last time.”

Hearing this, Qi Xia exhaled slightly in relief.

The man roughly threw three fans into Qin Dingdong’s arms.

Though he’d started with eleven, this “pairing” had cost him five.

Qin Dingdong took the fans and smiled faintly before inserting two into the machine.

“Scanning…”

“Pairing successful.”

All three of them relaxed at the sight of those words.

Qi Xia frowned. “Qin Dingdong, what’s your game? You could’ve just—”

Before he could finish, Qin Dingdong handed him a fan. “For you.”

“Huh?” Qi Xia froze.

The Sichuan man was equally stunned.

“For me?” Qi Xia confirmed.

“You helped me more than once. This fan is my thanks,” Qin Dingdong rubbed her neck. “Consider us even now.”

Qi Xia took the fan in disbelief. He’d assumed her sudden demand for a third fan was pure greed—but now it seemed… she was repaying a debt?

Did she not realize he’d been scamming her?

“Alright,” Qin Dingdong grinned. “Without you just now… I’d probably be dead. If you ever feel lonely, remember to call me, okay? I’m off!”

She waved at Qi Xia before affectionately linking arms with the Sichuan man. “Brother, let’s go!”

As the two walked away, Qi Xia ignored them and instead flipped open the fan for a quick glance.

His “lucky streak” had arrived.

It was another “Grief.”

He looked up, about to say something, when he suddenly saw an old man sprinting toward Qin Dingdong. Before she could react, the old man punched her to the ground.