Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Outside the Stage

Lu Yuan was thrilled. He felt he had basically figured out the relationship between Liu Dezhu and Hu Xiaoniu, as well as the circumstances surrounding the incident tonight.

He immediately sent Zheng Yuandong the result of his investigation: Hu Xiaoniu had invited Liu Dezhu to trade, and in the process of collecting the gold bars, Liu Dezhu incidentally led Kun Lun to a confrontation with the fugitives. Hu Xiaoniu and his friends were all time travelers, so this meant that Liu Dezhu had already obtained the qualifications to trade with other time travelers.

However, while Lu Yuan was eagerly waiting for the praise, Zheng Yuandong’s reply poured a bucket of cold water on him: “Your analysis is wrong.”

Lu Yuan was stumped. “Boss, what part of it is wrong?”

“After Hu Xiaoniu made an appointment with Liu Dezhu, he went to visit his neighbor instead of waiting at home. Will you visit your neighbor right before making an important transaction? ” asked Zheng Yuandong.

“No, that’s not logical behavior,” Lu Yuan realized as his boss spoke.”Boss, so what you’re saying is Hu Xiaoniu didn’t know Liu Dezhu would come, and that they didn’t make any agreement at all?”

“Yes,” Zheng Yuandong continued, “If you were in Liu Dezhu’s shoes and someone was asking you for a favor, would you be able to squat outside and wait more than 20 minutes for that person without getting angry?”

“No, I’d think that he’s too arrogant. The reason I broke up with my ex-girlfriend was also because she was too tardy. Every time we went out, I had to wait for her for half an hour, “replied Lu Yuan.

Zheng Yuandong asked, “Then what if I’m the one who asked you to wait for half an hour? Will you do it? “

Lu Yuan timidly answered, “You’re the boss. How could I dare to…” Wait, you mean Liu Dezhu also has a boss? “

Zheng Yuandong said, “Do you still feel that your previous conclusion is right?”

Lu Yuan was enlightened at once. Yes, he had indeed found a lot of clues, but he failed to analyze them carefully.

Although the detail about Liu Dezhu taking gold bars as payment matched with Hu Xiaoniu’s statement, for all they knew, Liu Dezhu might just be pretending, deliberately creating some kind of coincidence to mislead outsiders.

In fact, the reason why Liu Dezhu’s thoughts were full of gold bars was also because Qing Chen mentioned it to him.

At this moment, Zheng Yuandong concluded: “You came to the wrong assumption because someone is deliberately hiding a clue.” This clue is the most obscure, but also the most crucial. Whoever told Liu Dezhu to come to Courtyard 4 on Xingshu Road was the one who found the tracks of the suspects, and also the one who could make Liu Dezhu readily wait for more than 20 minutes.

Lu Yuan responded in a daze: “Tonight… an unknown individual is standing behind the scenes.”

A chill abruptly crept up his back. He had been earnestly performing on stage without knowing there was someone quietly watching the play in the darkness outside the stage.

You had no idea who he was; you didn’t even realize he was watching you.

Zheng Yuandong replied to his message, “This individual should be the third time traveler in Prison 18 that I told you about. He controlled Liu Dezhu and wove the thread to connect us all. But don’t worry; at least this person seems to be amicable for now. “

Lu Yuan felt that his brain was not very useful. Perhaps only someone like the boss could deal with the mysterious time traveler…

“Boss, how about I try to interrogate Liu Dezhu? Maybe we’ll get to find out who it is. “

Zheng Yuandong deterred, “That would turn what was originally an ally into an enemy.”

….

Countdown 23:50:00

At 11:50 pm, Qing Chen still had not fallen asleep.

He was lying silently on the living room floor, on the mattress Jiang Xue had spread out for him.

Jiang Xue’s house was trashed and there were still five fugitives at large, so the mother and daughter would temporarily settle in Qing Chen’s house.

In the dilapidated and dim room, there was an occasional waft of damp odor.

A few ants would crawl out of the kitchen from time to time, but Qing Chen didn’t do anything about it.

Jiang Xue had thoroughly cleaned up the house, tacitly thanking Qing Chen for his protection.

Qing Chen couldn’t sleep; anyone who experienced as much as he did at once would find it difficult to fall asleep.

For the time being, he reviewed every single thing that happened tonight, and confirmed that no one would be able to discover his role for the time being.

Even if Liu Dezhu were to be caught and tortured, they wouldn’t be able to uncover the identity of the mysterious figure controlling him behind the scenes.

What happened tonight seemed to have nothing to do with him, but all the causes and effects were linked together because of him.

This kind of feeling was very fascinating.

Just like in a game of chess, he had always been more suitable for the role of the player rather than the piece.

Neither was he willing to become a pawn.

A rustling sound came from the bedroom. Li Tongyun slipped out of the door in a nightdress and sat down on the floor beside Qing Chen. “Brother Qing Chen, you’re still awake too.”

Qing Chen looked at her with his arms folded under his head. “Why aren’t you sleeping yet? What about your mom?”

Li Tongyun whispered, “My mom is sleeping. Have you considered the thing I asked you about before? “

Qing Chen asked her, “What thing?”

Stop pretending, your memory is so good, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, “Li Tongyun counted with her fingers.” Today is September 29th, tomorrow is September 30th, and the day after tomorrow is National Day!

Qing Chen seemed to have just recalled the matter, “Oh, this…”

Let’s go out and play. So many things have happened. Let’s do something to relax! Her eyes sparkled with excitement when she mentioned playing outside.

If you want to go play outside, then just go. Why do you have to bring me along?” Qing Chen couldn’t help but laugh.

Li Tongyun lowered her head and said, “If you don’t go, my mother also won’t go.” She said it’s too dangerous to go out now, but I think it’s more dangerous to stay in the city. On the contrary, nothing will happen if you go out. The news also said there are five people they haven’t caught yet. I’m sure these people are still targeting the time travelers within the city! “

Qing Chen thought this was quite reasonable, but he asked again, “You really only want to go out to play?”

“Fine… It’s not only that, ” “If I don’t go out on National Day, I’ll definitely have to go to cram school again,” Li Tongyun said, her face drooping.I already have a ton of homework. If you add cram school on top of everything, I’m really going to die! At every parent-teacher meeting, Zhang Chaoyun’s mother will come out and babble about how good Zhang Chaoyun’s cram school is. She kept doing it until my mom also signed me into that cram school.

Qing Chen was stunned. Considering Li Tongyun’s intelligence, cleverness, and maturity, this was an unexpectedly normal problem among children.

Despite the emergence of transmigration, children would still not be able to escape cram school. Even a direct descendant of the Li family in the Inner World was no exception…

He laughed and said, “Where do you want to go? I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to convince your mother. “

You don’t have to, you just have to agree, and I’ll be the one to convince her! Li Tongyun stared at Qing Chen with full determination. “She just doesn’t think it’s safe to go out, but if you come with us, it will certainly be safe!”

What a powerful argument.

Li Tongyun continued to speak, “We won’t go too far, just choose a place around Luo City. Like Lao Jun Mountain, for example. I heard that the sunrise there is very beautiful.

For Li Tongyun, the place wasn’t important. The most critical thing was being able to escape the city and the cram school.

Qing Chen looked at her expectant little eyes and smiled, “Okay, I promise you, but if your mom doesn’t agree, then I can’t help you anymore.”

“That’s a deal!” Li Tongyun contentedly picked up the tail of her nightdress and trod back into the bedroom.

At the same time, he received a text from Nan Gengchen: “Qing Chen, Qing Chen, are you there?”

Qing Chen asked, “What are you up to this late at night?”

“National Day is coming. Wang Yun invited some classmates to watch the sunrise together on Laojun Mountain. Are you going?” Nan Gengchen said on WeChat: “They say Hu Xiaoniu, Zhang Tianzhen, and Liu Dezhu from the next class are also going.” A lot of people heard about Liu Dezhu going, so they also wanted to go.

Nan Gengchen added, “It’s said that Hu Xiaoniu will pick up the tab and everyone else won’t have to pay a penny.”

Qing Chen was taken aback. Could there be such a coincidence? They were also going to Laojun Mountain.

The reason those four suddenly organized this trip was most probably to use it as an opportunity to deepen their friendship with Liu Dezhu.

After all, Liu Dezhu had just saved their lives.

However, Wang Yun did not invite him but invited Nan Gengchen.

This was rather odd.

It stood to reason that after successfully latching onto Liu Dezhu, she had no more use for both Qing Chen and Nan Gengchen.

But although she had abandoned Qing Chen, she was still very enthusiastic about Nan Gengchen…

It didn’t make sense.

He asked Nan Gengchen through a message, “Did she find out that you’re a time traveler?”

Nan Gengchen refuted, “I’m not a time traveler!”

Qing Chen helplessly replied, “Alright, you’re not.”

This guy usually has the words “

time traveler”

practically stamped across his face. Wang Yun must have already discovered Nan Gengchen’s secret.

That was why she invited this fool.

Translated:  Zee

Edited: Tempest