“You can deal with Ke Yixiong?”

Xia Xiaolan was both surprised and delighted.

She had already attributed Luo Yaozong’s incident to Ke Yixiong – from any angle, he was the most suspicious.

But Ke Yixiong was cunning, a seemingly friendly young man who never acted directly. Last time someone took the fall for him, and this time with Luo Yaozong’s fall, Xia Xiaolan feared Ke Yixiong would escape again.

She knew Zhou Cheng never made empty promises and never committed to things he couldn’t accomplish.

Zhou Cheng nodded, “Remember those two human traffickers we caught on the train from Jinling to Shanghai? The ones who had once tried to kidnap you? They’d been operating since that year – some traffickers work alone, others in groups. After a few months of detention, they finally got the male trafficker to talk. They were part of a complete chain, with kidnappers, dealers… Children and young women were their main targets, though sometimes they even trafficked adult men.”

Different age groups served different purposes.

If Zhou Cheng hadn’t encountered this, so be it – he couldn’t right every wrong in the world!

But when he encountered one, he’d handle it. Thinking of how Xia Xiaolan had almost been trafficked by that fat woman, just turning them over to the police wasn’t enough. Pull up a radish, and soil comes with it – following one lead could reveal many things.

Of the two traffickers, the man proved less stubborn than the fat woman. A few months in prison had worn him down until he finally agreed to confess for leniency. Zhou Cheng’s timing was perfect – he readily accepted the man’s testimony and led.

Xia Xiaolan’s eyes lit up, “There were dealers… Yangcheng Train Station… Ke Yixiong?”

Wasn’t it on the train to Yangcheng where she’d encountered the fat woman?

Yangcheng Train Station was considered one of the country’s worst areas for public security, yet Ke Yixiong controlled it completely.

The fat woman couldn’t have tried to sell her victims without the local boss’s approval. The local boss might even have been involved in the trafficking – after all, Yangcheng Station was so chaotic that a few disappearances wouldn’t draw attention.

No surveillance cameras.

In an era without ID checks for boarding trains and limited communication, missing persons were like pebbles dropping into the ocean, barely causing a ripple. Silent evil lurked there – how many people had simply vanished without a trace?

Xia Xiaolan’s eyes darkened.

“The fat woman’s contact was Ke Yixiong?”

Zhou Cheng’s words carried a hidden meaning: “This is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve arrived – you focus on Golden Sand Pool today, we’ll talk more tonight.”

Zhou Cheng wanted Xia Xiaolan to sell houses happily, and she appreciated his consideration.

When she got out, she noticed Zhou Cheng wasn’t following, “You’re not coming? What happened to witnessing this together?”

Zhou Cheng pointed to his chest, “My heart is always here. Go on now.”

Ge Jian approached with long strides, and more people were watching them – Zhou Cheng had other plans. Just knowing Zhou Cheng was in Peng City put Xia Xiaolan at ease. She smiled at him:

“Whatever you’re planning to do, be careful!”

Though he hadn’t eaten any sugar, Zhou Cheng felt sweetness spread from his mouth throughout his body.

This woman!

Nothing needed to be said explicitly – she was just so clever, she understood him perfectly!

Love based on appearances might fade with time, but when two hearts truly understand each other, the mutual appreciation doubles the sweetness of romance.

1+1 doesn’t equal 2 – it’s more than double!

Zhou Cheng stepped on the gas and left. The thought of someone threatening Xia Xiaolan made it impossible for him to rest until this trouble was resolved.

…

“Who dropped off Xia Xiaolan?”

Du Zhaohui stood with Tang Yuanyue.

Tang Yuanyue shook his head, “Don’t know, they didn’t get out of the car.”

But Xia Xiaolan’s smile toward whoever was in the car could dazzle anyone’s eyes.

Tang Yuanyue had never seen Xia Xiaolan smile like that – even when business deals succeeded, she didn’t smile that way.

That smile could make flowers bloom in December’s winter…

Du Zhaohui snorted, “I can guess who it was, though Brother Yuanyue might not want to hear it.”

Du Zhaohui was being mysterious, but Tang Yuanyue figured it out: “Zhaohui, stop teasing. What’s so hard to guess? Even you and I came to congratulate Miss Xia today, it’s not strange for her official boyfriend to appear. But having come all this way, why not get out of the car? You’ve met him before – is he afraid to show his face?”

Du Zhaohui gave him a look, responding irritably:

“Didn’t I tell you? He’s extremely handsome. If he went into entertainment, half of Hong Kong’s current male stars would be out of work!”

Such high praise for a man’s appearance?

What kind of evaluation was that?

Tang Yuanyue originally didn’t believe Xia Xiaolan would be so superficial as to only care about a man’s looks.

But if it was as extreme as Du Zhaohui suggested, even if Xia Xiaolan was clever and cunning, she was still just a 20-year-old girl – it wouldn’t be strange if she was captivated by good looks.

Everyone loves beauty, even Tang Yuanyue himself wasn’t immune. Xia Xiaolan’s cleverness combined with her outstanding appearance was why Tang Yuanyue favored her.

If it were an equally clever but ugly woman, Tang Yuanyue would probably only want to hire her for his company, not pursue her!

An interesting soul might touch one’s heart, but without an attractive appearance to draw attention, who would take the time to discover that interesting soul?

“Miss Xia’s official boyfriend comes but doesn’t show himself – how interesting.”

Du Zhaohui craned his neck to look, but couldn’t even see the car’s rear end anymore, failing to see what was so interesting.

They followed the crowd to congratulate Xia Xiaolan.

At this point, Xia Xiaolan truly had no time to pay them much attention. The sales office entrance was completely blocked, and Xia Xiaolan smiled, her eyes curving, as she looked at the crowd holding brochures and forming long lines.

Oh my, at a glance, there must be one or two hundred people.

It was only eight in the morning, and among 200 people viewing houses, if one in ten was a serious buyer, at a 10:1 ratio, they could sell more than 20 units this morning.

Heh, Golden Sand Pool only had about 140 units total, and Building 1, serving as the show building, only had 19 completed units.

Who knew if that would be enough for just this morning’s sales?

“Ge Jian, let’s begin. Please invite the potential buyers in to view the sand table model.”

After viewing the model and selecting a unit type, they would pay a 1,000 yuan intention fee, and Qihang’s staff would show them around the complex.

This 1,000 yuan would count toward the house payment, and not be pocketed.

Those who didn’t get units would have their 1,000 yuan returned, but they needed to keep their receipts and wait until Qihang wasn’t so busy for the unified refund – what else could they do? With so many people crowding in today, who had time to waste on those without real buying power?

If someone wouldn’t even put up 1,000 yuan, they couldn’t be expected to produce more money – this was a way to precisely identify serious buyers!

Du Zhaohui flicked his sleeve: “Charging money just to view houses – she must be crazy for money!”