Unexpected Windfall

"What, is that not allowed?"

Gu Sheng looked innocent. "Although we hadn’t met at the time, we had already confirmed our feelings for each other. Couldn’t we call ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend?

"Yaya, your logic is seriously flawed! I’m beginning to wonder whether you’ll ever manage to get yourself married. Or have you never even thought about getting married?"

"What’s it to you, brat!"

Le Erya’s face flushed with anger as she shouted, "Don’t you know there are more men than women these days? There are plenty waiting for me to choose from!"

"Yeah! Your standards keep dropping, so you can only choose from among the bachelors now!"

Gu Sheng nodded in agreement. His words nearly drove Le Erya mad. He was truly vicious with his words—he was far too good at infuriating people.

"Bastard! Just because you found yourself a girlfriend, you think you’re impressive now, don’t you?"

Le Erya naturally refused to lose. "With your looks, you can only trick inexperienced little girls! If you’re really so capable, go find a mature woman with sound values!"

"Yaya, you’re really killing the mood!"

Gu Sheng put on an exasperated expression. "Do you think I don’t want to? It’s just that you know my school and major. I hardly come into contact with any girls my age.

"Girls are hard to find in real life, and they aren’t easy to find online either. I don’t even know whether the person on the other end is a woman. Finding Xin’er has already used up all my luck.

"Besides, I have somewhat high standards for my other half. Mainly, I want someone who’s never been with anyone before. You know what things are like for people our age now, so I’ve kept putting it off."

"Someone who’s never been with anyone? Young man, your standards are really high!"

Le Erya stared at Gu Sheng with a mocking smile, but the faint blush on her face betrayed her. She had never been in a relationship either. She was also inexperienced.

Gu Sheng looked helpless. "I can’t help it. The social atmosphere is a little problematic these days. A lot of girls don’t think that thing is important."

Le Erya grinned mischievously. "Are you so sure Xin’er has saved it for you? Even if it’s her first time, you might not be her first love!"

"Yaya, you can’t joke about this!"

Gu Sheng’s expression turned serious. "If you joke about this, don’t blame me for falling out with you. Of course Xin’er has never been with anyone before. I personally even—"

"Oh?"

Le Erya narrowed her eyes and pressed him. "Personally even what? Did you check?

"Heh heh~~ You haven’t even known her for two months, and you’re already planning to do something improper to her. I’m seriously questioning your sincerity!"

"No!"

Gu Sheng denied it outright, then lowered his voice and added, "Do you really need to check something like that? You can tell at a glance. There are three right beside me, and two of them are even—"

"You…"

Le Erya’s secret had been exposed by Gu Sheng, and her face turned bright red. Huang Anqi beside her was nearly as embarrassed, while even Wu Mengchen had lost some of her composure.

"Wait! How did you figure that out?"

Le Erya asked in astonishment, "I know He-jie has always focused all her attention on work, and her personality is rather tough, so she’s never had a boyfriend. Xiaoqi is still in high school, and the school doesn’t allow dating.

"But Sis Chen, your conditions are so good. How could you also be…"

"You little brat, stop talking."

Wu Mengchen had barely managed to maintain her aloof demeanor, but after hearing that, her entire face flushed red. She threw an empty paper cup at Le Erya. "What’s wrong with that? I just haven’t found someone suitable yet!

"I used to focus wholeheartedly on my studies, and the years passed in a flash. Now I’m a PhD. How many men do you think I could possibly find attractive?"

"Oh, oh~~ A woman with a doctorate! No wonder. Those men must have run away in fright as soon as they heard!"

Le Erya looked as if she had suddenly understood, but as expected, nothing good ever came out of her mouth.

"You little brat, what do you mean? Are you mocking me?"

Wu Mengchen stood up and pointed at Le Erya. The two of them began chasing each other around the office like children.

"I’m going to use the bathroom!"

Gu Sheng made no attempt to stop them. He had no way to intervene anyway. After sitting for a while longer, he felt that his bladder was getting full, so he stood up and said something to Huang Anqi before leaving the room.

"I’ve got you~"

Wu Mengchen grabbed Le Erya, who had stopped, but at that moment, Le Erya became interested in Gu Sheng, who had left.

Le Erya struggled, but couldn’t break free. She hurriedly pointed at Gu Sheng’s back and said to Wu Mengchen, "Sis Chen, let go! That brat is trying to sneak away. I’m going to follow him and see what kind of tricks he’s pulling this time."

"Are you planning to tease him again? You won’t even let him use the bathroom. You’ve really gone too far!"

Wu Mengchen glanced at Gu Sheng’s back and immediately exposed Le Erya’s little scheme. However, after saying that, she released Le Erya without the slightest intention of stopping her. She was also somewhat annoyed by Gu Sheng’s earlier comments about bachelors.

At the Hangcheng City Police Department office, several Criminal Inspectors were handling one dispute after another.

A middle-aged man wearing Black Sunglasses stood up and said, "The two of you Criminal Inspectors, I’ve already said it. Wang Chong, Wu Han, Liu Dong, and the others are just friends of mine. I really don’t know where they went.

"Besides, they’re five grown men. Even if I really wanted to harm them, I’d have to consider whether I was capable of it!"

Sitting across from him was a woman in her forties or fifties. Upon hearing this, she stood up and shouted, "You’re talking nonsense! Our Hanzi has always been punctual. How could he stay out all night without even calling home?"

"How should I know~"

The man in Black Sunglasses spread his hands, looking innocent. "I only know him. I introduced him to some odd jobs. I’m not his boss. How would I know where he ran off to?"

"You’re his boss! How could you not know?"

The woman ignored his explanation and shouted, "He only became like this after he started working for you. When he worked for other bosses, he always came home early.

"I know now! You must have hidden him somewhere and planned to make him do something dangerous, didn’t you?"

"Hey! Don’t go making wild accusations. What do you mean, boss? I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you keep slandering me, be careful or I’ll sue you for defamation!"

Black Sunglasses immediately became agitated. This was a special period, and people like them wished they could keep as low a profile as possible. Now that someone was shouting this in public, wasn’t she deliberately driving him into the ground?

The thought of possibly ending up in jail infuriated him. "Your Hanzi is a grown man with arms and legs. He can walk and move on his own. How could I possibly keep watch over him?

"And get this straight: it’s only been one night. He’s been gone for one night and you’re making such a fuss. It’s not as if he’s the only one who disappeared.

"There are five of them, five! All five left together. The other families haven’t said anything, but you’re the only one making a scene, aren’t you? I think you’re just trying to extort money, aren’t you!"

When Gu Sheng walked outside, he found the area filled with people involved in various disputes. One man wearing Black Sunglasses caught his attention.

Five people had gone missing, and one of them was named Hanzi. It couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it? If things really were as he suspected, then this was truly an unexpected windfall.