From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

I've known Dao Ge for several years, though we're not particularly close, but he's a reliable person.

I've known Dao Ge for several years. Back then, I had just come to Jiangzhou to work. The story of how I met Dao Ge is quite dramatic.

At that time, I didn't know he was a debt collector. Once, I was eating barbecue at the night market and only realized I didn't have enough money when I went to pay the bill.

Dao Ge was right next to me at the time, and he gave it to me without saying a word. I asked him to leave his contact information so I could return it to him later, but he said it was fine and I didn't need to return it.

But to my surprise, I found him again a few days later in that night market street. Just as I was about to return the money to him, I ran into several people who were causing him trouble.

I didn't think too much about it at the time, and I went up to help him fight.

That's how I got to know him. We had drinks together, and that's how I found out he worked as a debt collector.

Those people who were causing him trouble were also from the underworld; they told him they were mortal enemies.

But that's all I have with Dao Ge; we don't have much contact usually.

Although these are all just my guesses, I'm already about 80% sure.

One coincidence is an accident, two coincidences are chance, but three or four coincidences all happen at the exact moment I get into trouble—that's a meticulously planned trap.

Brother Luo was reported, the courier station was taken back, and the pawnshop ran away overnight—all on the same day.

How could there be so many coincidences?

Fang Heng is the mastermind behind everything!

His behavior wasn't just a simple case of rich kids vying for a girl's affections; he saw me as prey, and he was determined to kill me.

"Lin Ye, who did you just call? What else do you need to investigate?"

Su Qing's gentle voice sounded beside me. She looked up at me with her slightly flushed face and her eyes full of doubt.

I turned to look at her and said in as gentle a tone as possible, "Having an old friend with a wide network of connections help us follow up on the pawnshop's leads privately is much faster and more reliable than waiting for news from the police."

I didn't tell her that I was investigating Fang Heng.

There is no concrete evidence right now, and saying anything will only make her angry, or even cause her to do something rash.

Once I have solid evidence and uncover all the shady dealings, I'll settle this score with her one by one.

"Can you really find it?" Su Qing frowned slightly and asked in a low voice.

"Yes, I can." I nodded emphatically. "The police have official procedures, which restrict their actions. But the people I hired go the extra mile; they can dig deep and find loopholes."

I have always believed that any scheme orchestrated by humans will inevitably leave flaws.

Su Qing gave a soft "hmm" and didn't say anything more.

Even though she was naive, she vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

There is no such precise coincidence in the world.

All the disasters were aimed at me; they were all Fang Heng's doing.

He wanted to ruin me, to make me feel guilty for the rest of my life and never be able to hold my head up high again.

can.

Then I'll play a big game with you!

You rely on your family background to be superior and are determined to secure your position as the heir of the Fang family and gain your father's approval.

Then I'll shatter your beautiful dream!

I took a deep breath, turned to Su Qing gently, and said, "Let's go get something to eat first. Don't overthink it. I'll handle the rest."

I patiently calmed Su Qing down and led her to a quiet breakfast shop on the street.

I ordered two bowls of hot rice porridge and a few light snacks.

Su Qing kept her eyes down the whole time, poking at the porridge in her bowl with her chopsticks.

Her eyes were vacant, her mind completely preoccupied with the lost family heirloom bracelet.

She's always chattering away, full of energy.

The fact that she could become so depressed is enough to prove how important that heirloom bracelet is to her.

I sat across from her, looking at her, my heart heavy and choked with anxiety.

But I just don't understand why she would pawn something so important without hesitation, just to help me buy a car?

If I had known that she got that 300,000 yuan from that source, I would never have agreed to it, even if you killed me.

But it's too late to say all this now. Empty words are useless, and no amount of promises can compare to solid evidence.

After we finished breakfast and walked out of the store, Su Qing quietly followed beside me.

After walking about ten meters, I stopped, turned around, and looked at her carefully.

"Su Qing".

She looked up, her big eyes staring straight at me.

I looked at her and said earnestly, "Listen to me, this isn't your fault. You pawned the bracelet to help me. Now that it's lost, it's me who owes you, not you who owes me. So please don't blame yourself anymore, okay?"

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed it back.

After a few seconds of silence, she sniffed and said, "Then promise me you won't do anything foolish for the bracelet."

"When have I ever done anything stupid?"

"When you jumped into the river to save someone last time, you didn't even think about it."

I paused for a moment, almost wanting to laugh, but her serious expression stopped me.

Finally, I nodded and said, "Okay, I promise you."

She stared at me for two seconds, as if to confirm whether I was telling the truth, before softly humming in agreement.

We had no destination, so we just walked slowly along the street.

When we got tired, we stopped to rest under the big trees by the roadside.

The shade of the trees was cool, and a few stray orange cats were curled up in the corner, basking in the sun, lazy and docile.

Su Qing slowly squatted down, stretched out her slender fingers, and gently teased the kitten.

A faint smile, unseen for a long time, finally crept onto the corners of her mouth.

I watched quietly, feeling a slight sense of relief.

It's better to be able to distract her than to keep her immersed in sadness and self-blame.

Once she had calmed down completely, I hailed a taxi.

"Go back and get some rest. Leave everything about finding the bracelet to me. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Su Qing obediently sat in the back seat, rolled down the window and glanced at me, her eyes filled with complex emotions, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally just said softly, "Take care of yourself too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the car window slowly rolled up, the car merged into the traffic, and gradually disappeared into the distance.

As I watched the taxi merge into the traffic, the calm on my face gradually faded away.

All that remained was the pent-up frustration and anger from the morning, weighing heavily on my chest.

I took out a cigarette, lit it, and instead of rushing back to the hotel, I leaned against a roadside tree and slowly puffed on it.

From the courier station being robbed, to Brother Luo being reported, to the pawnshop running away, these three things were like three stones piled up, pressing down on me.

Each of these items alone would take me a while to recover from.

It just so happens that they all erupted on the same day, as if someone had timed it perfectly with a stopwatch.

coincidence?

I don't fucking believe in coincidences.

After finishing my cigarette, I stubbed it out and turned to go straight back to the hotel.

I pushed open the door, closed it behind me, and the only sound inside was the noise of cars coming from outside the window.

I sat on the edge of the bed, closed my eyes, and reviewed all my recent experiences. When all the details were put together, the truth became clear.

Fang Heng has been watching me for more than just a day or two. Su Qing and I are close, so it's impossible for him not to investigate.

He learned the source of the 300,000 yuan and how important the bracelet was to Su Qing, and then he took action.