It was an ordinary morning with bright daylight and streets bustling with traffic. Being early, most of the shops along the street hadn’t opened yet. Occasional pedestrians passed by.

Fan Jia stood at the street corner with her hair falling over her shoulders, wearing a beige jacket over an autumn dress and wrapped in a scarf. She looked around uncertainly, occasionally rubbing her hands together.

From every angle, she appeared to be an inexperienced college student.

At least three police officers were stationed at different points around this intersection, monitoring Fan Jia’s situation through binoculars and communication devices.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng were positioned in an unfinished second-floor shop, watching through the glass. Occasionally, they’d catch Fan Jia looking up and giving them a faint smile, briefly revealing glimpses of her usual spirited and capable police officer self.

After waiting for about half an hour, a man appeared from the far end of the street, walking toward Fan Jia. She appropriately displayed signs of nervousness and anticipation, clutching her canvas shoulder bag tightly, and slightly rising on her toes.

Even when the man passed by her, seemingly not the person she was waiting for, she continued to appear anxious and disappointed, looking around expectantly.

Xu Mengshan muttered over the communications device that everyone could hear: “Oscar-worthy performance.”

Fan Jia’s lips quickly curved upward before dropping again. Appearing tired of waiting, she lowered her head to kick at roadside trash, looking utterly dejected.

“Are you Fan Lingling?” The man had surprisingly returned, wearing a smile.

Fan Jia quickly looked up: “Yes, I am! Are you… Apple Bro?”

The man nodded, smiling, and when he got a clear view of Fan Jia’s face up close, his eyes noticeably lit up.

Fan Jia studied him as well.

Known in the streets as “Apple Bro” because many university students borrowed money from him to buy Apple phones, Fan Jia had imagined him to be shifty-looking with suspicious features. Instead, she found a clean-cut, seemingly shy man. Apple Bro was nearly 1.8 meters tall but rather thin, with a fair complexion and smiling eyes behind glasses. He wore an ordinary down jacket and jeans, looking every bit like an inexperienced senior college student.

According to police records, this “Apple Bro” had indeed graduated from Huaicheng University just three years ago.

“You’re also from Huaicheng University?” Apple Bro asked curiously, “How come I’ve never seen you before?”

Fan Jia appeared flustered: “I’m from the Chinese Literature Department, I usually stay in a lot…”

Apple Bro smiled understandingly. As if worried he wouldn’t trust her, Fan Jia took out her student ID and handed it to him. He glanced at it, nodded, and returned it, saying, “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m willing to lend you money because Xiao Wei introduced you. We’re all acquaintances, and Xiao Wei is like a brother to me. It’s hard to borrow money these days, everyone’s tight on funds. I’m helping you out because of our connection and because Xiao Wei spoke to me at length. Looking at your student ID just gives me peace of mind.”

Fan Jia cursed internally while maintaining a grateful expression, nodding repeatedly: “Thank you, Apple Bro, thank you!”

“My car’s parked over there, let’s take it,” he said.

Fan Jia hesitated briefly before nodding.

A white Buick was parked by the road, unremarkable. Once inside, Fan Jia sat rigidly upright, her body tense. Apple Bro seemed to notice her nervousness and said, “Don’t be afraid, we’re a legitimate lending operation with very low interest rates. I don’t make much money from this, I’m purely helping fellow students who want to start businesses. Have some water.”

He handed her a bottle of mineral water. Fan Jia’s heart leaped with joy as she thought to herself: There must be something in it! She twisted it open and took several big gulps. But even after driving for more than ten minutes, nothing happened. It was just ordinary mineral water.

“What do you need the money for?” Apple Bro asked.

Fan Jia answered softly and uncertainly: “Starting a business.”

Apple Bro smiled and said, “Good luck, junior.”

If she hadn’t known the true nature of these campus loan scorpions, Fan Jia would have thought the person before her was genuinely kind and gentle. Thinking about those real university students, treated with such warmth and constantly hearing words like “entrepreneurship,” “legitimate,” and “relationships,” they probably easily fell for this sweet talk and believed these lies.

Especially those financially struggling female university students under great pressure. This “senior” could easily lower their guard and win their favor.

Tsk, she’d only heard of beautiful female snakes before. When this gentle senior dropped his mask and showed his forked tongue, it would surely be quite a sight.

After about twenty minutes, the car drove to a home furnishing mall area. Fan Jia showed a confused expression but seemed afraid to ask. Apple Bro parked the car and very gentlemanly opened the door for her, saying, “The boss we’re borrowing money from has many businesses, he owns half the shops in this mall and does great business. He works here regularly to keep an eye on things.”

Fan Jia: “Oh…”

However, they didn’t go into the mall but to a nearby street of storefronts. Fan Jia noticed that due to the remote location, most shops were closed and business seemed extremely slow. But she pretended to know nothing and followed him to one of the storefronts.

The white rolling shutter was closed, with no door number or signboard. Apple Bro said quietly, “This is Brother Li’s storage warehouse. He’s very busy and pressed for time, so he’ll meet us here to arrange your loan. Be smart, and show off your communication skills and social ability. If Brother Li gets a good impression of you, he might even recruit you into his company in the future.”

Fan Jia acted as if suddenly enlightened, nodding foolishly several times.

Apple Bro maintained his gentle, experienced demeanor as he took out his keys and opened the rolling shutter. They were indeed greeted by stacks of cardboard boxes, their contents unknown. Apple Bro led her up a narrow, dark staircase with bare white walls and cement floors. As Fan Jia followed him, she thought to herself: “He’s going to try something bad, he’s going to try something bad!” She knew her police colleagues had followed and were watching from various hidden positions nearby. Every bit of nonsense this “pimp” spoke would only draw mockery from the detectives.

The second floor was surprisingly well-furnished with several office desks. A middle-aged man with thinning hair, nearly bald, sat at one desk. Hearing movement, he lifted his head rather arrogantly before returning to his documents. An ashtray with a half-smoked cigar sat beside him.

Apple Bro led Fan Jia over and said, “Brother Li, this is my junior schoolmate. She’s short on cash recently and wants to start a business, hoping to borrow some money from the company. Her business project is quite good…” Apple Bro glanced at Fan Jia, his eyes showing familiarity and understanding, “Brother Li, I know her project needs a small amount, and you rarely approve these nowadays. Could you make an exception for my sake?”

Fan Jia immediately put on an ingratiating smile: “Hello, Brother Li, sorry to trouble you!”

Brother Li looked at her once, unhurriedly put down his documents, picked up his cigar, and said: “Sit down.”