Morax is dead, Liyue will fall into my hands.

Li Ye scratched his hair with a hint of regret, but he could understand it, since he was often too busy to spare any time for it.

"Can I only show my face once? It's alright, Boss Ji, you go ahead with your work. If you really can't get away, that's fine too. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Ningguang feigned a regretful expression and said, "That's the only way. I'll get back to work now and try to get there tonight."

Li Ye stood up and said, "Alright, I'll see you off."

Just as Ningguang was about to leave, her gaze swept over the counter next to her, where the prizes Li Ye had won were displayed.

"Oh, are these the prizes you're planning to give to Kuaiyu?" Ningguang walked to the counter, picked up an exquisite wooden carving, and said, "How about giving one to me?"

Li Ye shrugged indifferently and said, "Sure, take whichever one you like. Anyway, Kuaiyu won't know if there's one more or one less."

Ningguang picked up a Morax target, looked at it with satisfaction, and said, "This one will do."

Ningguang, with her wealth, certainly didn't lack such inexpensive items, but looking at the nameplate on the wood carving, she felt that it was a unique piece, more precious than all the ornaments she had ordered from Mingxingzhai.

As evening approached, "Kuaiyu" arrived to collect the prize.

Ke Qing walked into the money exchange and found that the employees' faces were full of fatigue, but they could not hide the joy in their eyes, which was a joy from the bottom of their hearts.

This is what Ke Qing admires most about Li Ye; the people who work for him always give people a special sense of joy and satisfaction.

Some say that Li Ye doesn't have any remarkable methods; he just pays high salaries.

If I offered Li Ye the same high salary, my employees would be even more grateful than Li Ye's employees.

The problem is that these people always talk the talk, instead of taking action like Li Ye.

After confirming that no one around could recognize her, Ke Qing secretly took out her phone and called Li Ye.

Li Ye originally thought he would only see Kuai Yu at the dinner party, but he didn't expect her to come so soon. He was surprised but also felt a lot of joy at reuniting with an old friend.

Chapter 36: Why is one prize missing?

"Long time no see! How was your trip? Did you have fun?"

"It's alright. They call it a vacation, but we're actually busy half the time," Ke Qing said as she walked into Li Ye's office.

She looked around the office layout and said, "But you, in less than two months, have suddenly become a prominent figure in Liyue Harbor, and your fame is several times greater than when we last parted."

If it weren't for the daily chat group (censored), I'd worry that once you become successful, you wouldn't recognize your old friends anymore.

"Even if I don't acknowledge anyone else, I can't ignore you. You are my most important right-hand man."

As Li Ye spoke, he walked to the counter and said, "Look, these are all the prizes I won. I pretended not to know what Yuhengxing wanted and didn't give them to her. I saved them especially for you."

"Really?" When Ke Qing heard Li Ye say that, she was not angry at all, but rather felt very happy. Maybe that's just how women are.

Ke Qing looked at the prizes on the counter, paused for two seconds, and said, "Isn't one missing?"

Ke Qing remembered that there was also a wooden carving. The carving was very exquisite and was won by Li Ye when he participated in the "Matching Couplets" competition. She liked it very much.

"Huh?" Li Ye was speechless. How did you know one was missing?

Ke Qing realized she might have let something slip and quickly explained, "Look, your counter is arranged so neatly, but there's such a big empty space in the middle."

Li Ye, upon hearing Ke Qing's reminder, also realized that he had been a bit obsessive-compulsive when arranging the prizes, with each prize spaced roughly the same. As a result, it looked particularly awkward that he hadn't re-arranged them after taking one.

Should we tell a lie and get it over with?

Li Ye thought about it and decided to let it go; there was no need for that. He figured that if he confessed, he could at least get leniency.

Li Ye said, "Boss Ji came over just now. Before she left, I noticed that she was particularly interested in one of the wood carvings, so I took the liberty of giving it to her."

"How could I... Never mind, it's just a wood carving."

Although Keqing was very dissatisfied with Li Ye's actions, if she put herself in Li Ye's shoes, she realized that it wasn't a big deal.

Getting angry about this is unreasonable and somewhat irrational.

Ke Qing is straightforward, but not unreasonable. Even when she occasionally throws a little tantrum at Li Ye, it's mostly in jest.

If they realize they've gone too far, they'll not only immediately repent but might even apologize.

For this reason alone, she is far superior to her peers.

It's just a wood carving. Once we find out who Boss Ji is, how many wood carvings won't we be able to get back?

After carefully putting away all the prizes, Ke Qing said, "Oh, right, there's something else I need to tell you. I might not be able to make it tonight."

"What's wrong now?" Li Ye was confused. What did that mean? Why was there yet another one who might not make it?

Ke Qing said, half-jokingly, "It's nothing. It's just that I don't want to see Ning Guang. I have a grudge against her, but it wasn't convenient to talk about it in the group chat before."

resentment?

Li Ye immediately felt relieved.

Li Ye had suspected that there must be some secret between Kuaiyu and Ningguang when he saw Kuaiyu always criticizing Ningguang in the group chat. Now it seems that he was right.

Li Ye asked with some curiosity, "You two know each other?"

Ke Qing feigned indignation and said, "Maybe, who knows if she still recognizes me."

I understand. They must have known each other before Ningguang became successful.

Li Ye didn't feel comfortable delving too deeply into matters involving personal privacy.

However, since Kuaiyu had already said that, Li Ye could only say, "I see. If Ningguang leaves early, could you come over?"

Ke Qing thought for a moment and said, "There shouldn't be any problem."

Hearing this, Li Ye offered some consolation, saying, "Alright, if Ningguang leaves early, I'll notify you by phone."

As long as you're in Liyue Harbor, Mona can bring you over anytime.

Ke Qing thought to herself that even without Mona, she could come anytime as long as Ningguang wasn't there. "It's decided then. I'll be going now. Contact me directly by phone if anything comes up."

Li Ye saw Ke Qing off, and also marked the end of Yunhan Society's first performance.

The performance was a great success, thanks to Mr. Yun Jin's wonderful performance and the Qianyan Army and security team's all-out efforts to maintain order.

Although there were some minor setbacks along the way, nothing too serious happened.

Until 5 p.m., Xin Yan took over the stage and continued to bring the audience the ultimate rock and roll feast.

Li Ye had originally intended to invite Yun Jin to the dinner party that evening, given her significant help. However, considering Xin Yan's rock performance that night, he ultimately decided against it.

As Xin Yan's violent rock music played, "Wanmin Money Shop" finally ended its first day of business.

A successful start naturally deserves a celebration, but the celebratory banquet was scheduled for seven days later.

The main reason was that the employees were too tired. Considering that they would have to work overtime again tomorrow, they had no intention of celebrating and just wanted to go to sleep.

Li Ye assigned the patrol task to Meng Qing and instructed him to keep an eye on the security of the vault.

He had a feeling that "Northern Bank" would definitely make a news story about the bank's vault.

Whether it was embezzlement or the loss of the treasury, these were the perfect targets to attack "Wanmin Qianzhuang".

Of course, this kind of thing is definitely not something that "Northern Bank" or the Fools would do themselves; hooligans and thugs don't have that kind of ability.

Recent news suggests that a large number of members from treasure-hunting groups are converging on Liyue, and Li Ye feels the answer is already obvious.

Qianyan Army and the General Affairs Department have both informed Li Ye, hoping that he will not alert the enemy and scare away the treasure-hunting group.

They'd let the thieves come and steal it; if "Wanmin Bank" was really robbed, they'd take full responsibility. It was practically telling Li Ye that this was a sting operation.

At first, Li Ye didn't quite understand why, but later Meng Qing secretly told Li Ye that Qianyan Army and the General Affairs Department also had performance pressure.

In addition, if you want to get promoted and get a raise, you need to have some outstanding achievements. How long will it take to get promoted if you just rely on seniority?

Feng Yan became famous overnight and rose rapidly in the Qianyan Army, enjoying unparalleled glory for a time, which made others very envious.

But fighting demons is not only rare and unpredictable, but also extremely dangerous, and you might end up losing your life.

Catching a treasure-hunting gang in Liyue Harbor is a different story; it's less risky and more rewarding.

If you catch the ringleader, a promotion is practically guaranteed.

That's not a thief, that's practically a walking third-class merit award!

Chiiwa Jun and the General Affairs Director were so hungry they could cry; they wished they could have more, because there wouldn't be enough to go around.

What else could Li Ye say? He could only wish his brothers in the treasure-hunting gang a good reformation and to become new people after they've been imprisoned.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ningguang is actually Boss Ji!?

Since Keqing didn't inform Li Ye in advance like Ningguang did, she would have to find a suitable reason for herself if she wanted to appear as Yuheng Star.

Her plan was simple: since Ningguang was going to the dinner party, when the time was right, Ningguang would definitely say that she wanted to go to the dinner party, and then she would have a thousand reasons to be there.

So after leaving the money shop, Keqing did not stay at Chihu Rock, but returned to Yuehai Pavilion, intending to pretend to discuss the "Wanmin Money Shop" with Ningguang, but actually hitch a ride.

Ke Qing returned to Yuehai Pavilion and found that Ning Guang was not there. Upon asking, she learned that Ning Guang had returned to Qunyu Pavilion.

With no other option, Keqing had to make another trip to Qunyu Pavilion.

......

"What? Ningguang is soaking in a hot spring?"

Ke Qing looked at Bai Wen, who seemed a little embarrassed, and said, "Never mind, I understand. You can go ahead and get busy."

Since there was no rush, Keqing simply sent Hyakumon away and went straight to the study to wait for Ningguang to finish soaking in the hot spring.

Although Keqing and Ningguang don't get along very well, due to their frequent work interactions, she is one of the few people who can freely enter and leave the study of Qunyu Pavilion.

Entering the study and standing by the window, I gazed at Liyue Harbor under the setting sun. The evening glow of the sunset painted the entire Liyue Harbor with a crimson hue, giving me a sense of inexplicable warmth.

It's as if the hustle and bustle of the day has quietly faded away, and my whole heart becomes quiet in comfort and satisfaction. This is also Ke Qing's favorite way to relax during his leisure time.

Just as Ke Qing was lamenting how wonderful the world was and how irritable she was, her peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of the wooden carving on her desk.

Hmm? This wood carving looks familiar. When was it made?

In Keqing's memory, Ningguang did indeed have a deep respect for the Geo Archon, admiring his abilities and his selfless dedication in leading Liyue to where it is today.

Ningguang has never been interested in making wooden sculptures, figurines, or pillows of the Geo Archon, as it would be somewhat inappropriate for others to see them.

Ke Qing picked up the wood carving casually and happened to notice the nameplate hanging on it.

Hmm? Hmm... Hmm!

Isn't this the very wood carving that Boss Ji took from Li Ye?

Could it be that...Boss Ji... is... Ning Guang!?