Everyone went to the police station together. Since Lin Jiang wasn’t heavily involved, he was free to go after giving a simple statement.
"If you’re not busy, wait for me a bit," Liang Shuhuo whispered. "Oh, and give me your account number. I have to get your money back for you."
"Okay, I’ll wait for you in the car."
With that, Lin Jiang returned to his car and sent her his account number.
At the same time, a notification prompt appeared.
[Task Complete (Work-related Annoyance): Reward: Weight Loss Card*1, 20 EXP]
[You have gained favor with NPC Liang Shuhuo. Affinity +10]
[Affinity: 30]
[Reward: 1,000,000 Special NPC Development Fund, deposited to your account.]
[The Vanguard Officer has been defeated. Reward: 500,000 in cash.]
Nice!
Looking at the game notifications, Lin Jiang tapped on the car’s armrest.
The Vanguard Officer had appeared, which meant the boss behind him was about to surface.
As for who that was, only time would tell.
Bored with nothing to do, Lin Jiang scrolled through his phone to kill time and opened Qiu Yunong’s newly registered short video account.
’She’s gaining followers pretty quickly.’
She had only posted one video, but her follower count was already over 1,200.
Over 2,000 likes and over 200 comments.
Lin Jiang didn’t understand short video platform analytics, but he figured those numbers were pretty good. Not too shabby at all.
But he had to admit, Qiu Yunong’s figure and dance skills were truly amazing. She was clearly an expert at teasing.
Her gaze and movements were very seductive. All the desperate guys online were getting hooked like fish.
He casually opened the comment section, and the comments from the desperate guys were all over the place.
DivorcedEightTimes: I see stretch marks.
Qiuqiuqiu-Yunong (Author): I got them from giving birth to you.
DivorcedEightTimes ▷ Qiuqiuqiu-Yunong: Mommy.
Qiuqiuqiu-Yunong (Author): ???
OneHundredAndEightSauce: Instead of getting mad, he just started sucking up to you.
Lin Jiang couldn’t help but laugh. ’These guys are wild.’
BZZT BZZT BZZT—
Just then, his phone buzzed with a notification for a bank transfer. The 180,000 from earlier had been returned.
About an hour later, Liang Shuhuo came out with the installer.
"Director Liang, thank you so much. Without you, I wouldn’t have known what to do."
"Don’t thank me. You should be thanking my friend. I was fooled by that guy, too."
"Sir, thank you so much. You’re a lifesaver."
"It was no trouble at all. Don’t worry about it."
"Master Zhang, let’s take this as a lesson. You have to be extra careful on the job from now on. If that vase had been real, we would’ve definitely had to pay up."
"I understand, Director Liang. I’ll be sure to be careful next time."
"Get in the car. I’ll have my friend give you a ride home."
"I’d better not. My clothes are dirty."
"Alright. Go home and calm your nerves. Just be more careful on the job from now on."
"I will."
After a few more words of instruction, Liang Shuhuo got into Lin Jiang’s car, and the two of them drove off.
Glancing at the time, he saw it was already past four in the afternoon. Liang Shuhuo said,
"It’s almost time for dinner. Let’s eat together. I’ll arrange it."
"Sure. You pick the place."
"Okay."
Liang Shuhuo chose a hotpot restaurant. Since it wasn’t the dinner rush yet, it wasn’t too crowded.
"Do you feel like drinking? I’d like to have a drink with you."
"Sure. I’ll just get a designated driver to take me home later."
"How about some hard liquor?"
Lin Jiang looked at Liang Shuhuo in surprise. "You drink hard liquor?"
"Beer makes me feel bloated, and it’s easy to gain weight from it," Liang Shuhuo said with a smile.
"But my tolerance is just average. I can probably only handle one glass."
"So you’re a one-drink wonder, huh?"
Liang Shuhuo gave a mysterious smile. "It’s fine. Even if I don’t pass out, I’ll pretend to be drunk."
"No wonder they say you’re a person who follows your heart."
They looked at each other and smiled as an intimate atmosphere slowly began to blossom between them.
Soon, their food arrived, and Liang Shuhuo raised her glass.
They lightly clinked their glasses and each took a sip.
"I really have to thank you for this. If you hadn’t come, I would’ve fallen for it."
"I bet you were pretty panicked at the time, too."
"I was. That’s not a small amount of money," Liang Shuhuo said.
"I’ve worked with Master Zhang for many years, so I know his situation. He has two kids, one in college and one in high school. It’s when they need money the most. If he really had to pay that much, his family would be ruined."
Liang Shuhuo picked up a slice of cucumber with her chopsticks and said as she ate,
"How did you figure out there was something wrong with Liu Hongquan? You know about porcelain?"
"I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I know a thing or two."
’If I hadn’t gone to that porcelain exhibition with Jiang Xiaoqi and met that guy, Yuan Tonghai, who explained some of the relevant details, I probably wouldn’t have spotted the issue either.’
Lin Jiang took a sip of liquor and said,
"At the time, I was about seventy percent sure. But his behavior on top of that made me feel like something was definitely wrong with him."
"What kind of behavior?"
"You mentioned in the car that he hired you for the design but then complained about the price. When you told him to find someone else, he refused. That was strange. Plus, he kept finding fault with you during the renovation. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem like the homeowner. He acted more like a foreman."
[You have earned Liang Shuhuo’s admiration. Charm +1]
"You were spot on."
"Spot on?"
"During the police interrogation, he confessed to everything," Liang Shuhuo said.
"He really isn’t the homeowner. He’s the homeowner’s wife’s younger brother. His sister and brother-in-law have been working over in Beijing and were planning to move back to Zhonghai soon. So, they bought a house in advance and left the renovation to him. He wanted to use the opportunity to make a little extra money."
"But why did he hire you?"
"Because I’m the best, of course," Liang Shuhuo said smugly.
"I’ve won quite a few awards. His sister saw them and really liked my design style, so she specifically requested me as the designer."
"So that explains everything."
"But I’m really impressed by your insight. To think you could notice all those little details."
"Keep it low-key. No need for blind admiration."
Lin Jiang was a little puzzled about this himself.
’In the past, I don’t think I would have thought of all this. But back then, I just suddenly became suspicious about it.’
’Could it be because my comprehension has increased?’
The two ate and chatted, finishing their meal a little after seven in the evening.
Lin Jiang called for a designated driver. He first had Liang Shuhuo dropped off, then returned to Century Triumph himself.
After getting back, Lin Jiang didn’t go home, but instead went to the gym at Century Triumph.
’Now that I have a Fitness Card, I’ve got to get those abs and V-lines as soon as possible.’
The gym was called Suya Fitness Club. Its exterior was a riot of colorful lights, and it was enormous.
It was said to have been a joint venture between the property developer and a fitness company, primarily serving the upscale residents of the complex.
What Lin Jiang didn’t expect was to see Qin Yangyang the moment he walked in.
She was wearing light gray yoga pants and a white athletic jacket, sitting on a chair and chatting with the female receptionist.
Lin Jiang thought back to the few times they had met before.
This was the first time he’d seen Qin Yangyang dressed like this. Her legs, hugged by the yoga pants, were perfectly toned and incredibly eye-catching.
Judging by their interaction, she seemed to be a regular here. He could hear them laughing from time to time.
But what interested Lin Jiang more was the blue exclamation mark above her head.
[Task Name: A Frustrating Plateau]
[Task Description: She wants to get her weight under 110 pounds, but she’s hit a plateau and her weight hasn’t changed in half a month.]
[Task Reward: Delayed Card*1, 20 EXP]
’This reward is a little interesting...’
Just as Lin Jiang was about to inspect the reward, Qin Yangyang turned around.
"Oh, what are you doing here?"

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