“Didn’t expect you to be quite generous.”
Just now it had been a valuable imported watch, and now ice cream.
“Of course!”
“Then big brother will just slack off from now on and wait for you to support me in old age.”
“Easy to arrange.”
“Hahahaha…”
The two of them laughed as they ate their ice cream and walked away.
Some of the children licked theirs in small bites, some were still staring blankly, and some had already run off.
“We actually got to eat ice cream…”
“I’ve dreamed of tasting it.”
“After eating ice cream, I’d be happy even if I died.”
“Eat quickly! It’s going to melt.”
“I want to share it with my brother.”
“If you wait, it’ll all melt. There won’t even be any liquid left.”
“We forgot to say thank you.”
“She looked kind of fierce.”
“I saw her knock down a gang uncle earlier—she’s really amazing!”
“Yeah, yeah, I saw it too! If I were half as strong as her, I could go work at the docks.”
“Will she come again tomorrow? I want to bring my little sister.”
“If she comes every day, we’ll definitely get chased away. Lots of people will come to take the spots.”
“Ah…”
Ye Qingning stayed until evening again before leaving Liu Jinting’s place.
She found where those ruffians were staying. They were discussing how to kill her.
“Why don’t we bring some tribute and ask Brother Zhang San for help?”
“Do you think he’d be willing to act?”
“That depends on how much we offer.”
“With the few of us together, can’t we beat a little girl? That money took us two years to save.”
“Better to be safe. Look at big brother’s condition— the doctor at the clinic said he might not make it.”
“We must vent this anger! Otherwise, we won’t be able to hold our heads up in the gang.”
Hearing that they were willing to spend a little money to lead her to bigger gains, Ye Qingning was more than happy.
Brother Zhang San accepted the tribute without hesitation, but didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he said their boss was currently plotting something important with high-ranking Japanese officials—there was even a chance he could become a high-ranking official in Shanghai City.
At such a critical time, he had to assist the boss first. These minor matters could only be postponed.
When the group heard that their gang leader might become an official, they were overjoyed. If it were true, their status would surely rise.
Revenge suddenly seemed insignificant.
They didn’t notice the mocking expression on Brother Zhang San’s face as he lifted his teacup.
The moment Ye Qingning heard about collaborating with the Japanese, she immediately labeled them traitors. Without hesitation, she emptied all of Brother Zhang San’s wealth.
So when he went to store the tribute he had just received, he found that all his belongings were gone.
Having no solution, he thought of more capable members within the gang.
Ye Qingning sat in a café, watching as they reported the matter step by step up the chain.
In the end, the entire gang was stripped clean by her—including the Japanese they had gone to seek help from.
And on the Japanese side, one more thing was lost.
Their lives.
Looking at the wealth she had just collected into her space, Ye Qingning felt little joy.
How many poor people had been exploited to accumulate all this?
She needed to speed things up.
Shanghai City was not suitable for her.
This time, she had clearly left the name “Lemon” in an obvious place, yet her name didn’t spread far.
Strange.
From that day on, Ye Qingning noticed she ran into Patrol Chief Zhu quite frequently.
“Patrol Chief Zhu, we meet again.”
“That just means we’re fated.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course.”
“Do you know the fastest way to find someone?”
“Miss, who are you looking for? If it’s an ordinary person, placing a newspaper ad is the fastest. If not, then those who gather intelligence would be quicker.”
“A newspaper?”
Ye Qingning smacked her forehead—how had she forgotten that?
“If you have a photo, it would be even faster.”
“I don’t. Can I take up a large space?”
“As long as you have money.”
Ye Qingning understood.
The next day—
On national newspapers, many people saw a bold black headline: Looking for Su Ruoqing.
It took up a full third of a page, enlarged and bolded, extremely eye-catching. Below it was a single line of small text: I am in Shanghai City.
“You’re reading newspapers now? Can you understand all of it?”
“Look, I posted this.”
Ye Qingning handed the newspaper to Liu Jinting.
“Su Ruoqing… who is she to you? Where’s your family?” After knowing her for so long, this was the first time Liu Jinting asked about her personal matters.
“She’s my mother. She’s gone. I’m looking for the rest of my family.”
“So you’ve been living alone all this time?”
“Yep.”
Seeing Ye Qingning’s indifferent expression, Liu Jinting suddenly thought of something. “Where have you been staying all this time?”
“The International Hotel!”
If she was going to stay somewhere, it had to be the best. With money, there was no worry.
“As expected.” Liu Jinting sighed, not knowing what to say. “From today onward, move here. There’s an empty room next door.”
“That sounds troublesome.”
“Don’t like it?”
After knowing her for so long, he knew this little one was picky. He wondered what kind of wealthy family could still raise such a delicate child in times like these.
“…”
She was worried it would lower her living standards.
But she still moved in enthusiastically. No matter what, it was now a place where someone would be waiting for her to come back.
To celebrate her moving in, Ye Qingning specially treated Liu Jinting to a good meal.
Facts proved that newspapers were indeed useful—but there were also many scammers. Many people pretended to be Su Ruoqing.
Looking at those who confidently claimed to be her—forget gender or age, the key point was that Su Ruoqing had already passed away.
When Ye Qingning told the truth, she was even scolded as crazy for looking for a dead person, which made her hands itch to hit someone.
Fortunately, someone else dealt with them for her, so she didn’t act.
She had to admit—Liu Jinting was quite reliable.
Just like that, another ten days passed. Ye Qingning had been in Shanghai City for over a month, yet she still had no news of her family.
After moving in with Liu Jinting, that brat Gu Jin found it much easier to visit her—he practically came every day to bother her.
At first, his father and elder brother wanted to recruit her into their gang. As if that would ever happen.
She had replied directly, “I only become the boss!”
They didn’t make things difficult for her. Instead, they had their subordinates treat her as an honored guest—though they sent over a tagalong.
When Gu Jin first came, he was a bit awkward speaking to Liu Jinting. Later, he simply called him Brother Jinting.
Only then did Ye Qingning learn that Gu Jin’s older sister, Gu Jia, liked Liu Jinting. However, the family didn’t approve of Liu Jinting, seeing him as a powerless loner.
Hmph. With her around, not appreciating Liu Jinting would be their loss.
“Qingning, where are we going today?”
“No idea.” Walking along the street, Ye Qingning had no destination in mind.
Passing by a sugarcane stall, she bought quite a lot.
Gu Jin rushed to pay first, and Ye Qingning didn’t stop him.
The vendor smiled as he chopped the sugarcane into small pieces for easy eating.
Ye Qingning bit into a piece, thinking that she had arrived in spring, and now it was already autumn. She wondered if she could find her family before the New Year.
“Pfft—”
Wait… why did the sugarcane taste like blood? That white thing—could it be her tooth?!
Ahhh! Her little teeth actually lost to sugarcane! What a miscalculation!
Now there was a gap!
She was no longer a little fairy anymore!