281 Not Buying

How much time Ye Shuang would need to finish the case that she was working on? It was really hard to say, but a conservative guess put it at several months. For example, the latest schedule that she had would start the following month, so before that, at most, she could only start some preparatory work.

Yan Si understandably exploded. He originally wanted to be in line, but once he heard that he would need to wait months, he knew that would not do. If he waited that long, even if Ye Shuang managed to find the real thief, by then, the real inheritor of the Yan family would be settled—even if the truth was discovered, what would the point be then?

The truth was important, but victory was even more important.

Was the person who was framed to be the traitor unluckier or the person who managed to get his innocence restored after so long and was mocked by the public for being stupid? In any case, Yan Si personally thought that neither of those options was acceptable. Therefore, hounding Ye Shuang now became his biggest goal in life. Jumping the cue was necessary!

…

"I am really not free." Ye Shuang sounded like she had once been the owner of a market stall but had now become the CEO of a big company. "Plus, you are unable to afford the fee of my team. If you are going for a single-person case, then you need a special talent that is beyond the level of middle-tier agent. Xiao Su once saw the crime scene, and if you really want to build a case, my suggestion is for you to go to her, but her asking price is not going to be low…"

"Wait, who did you say has seen the crime scene before?" Yan Si could not help but interrupt.

Ye Shuang blinked several times. "Su Zheng… haven't I told you about this? On the day of your sister's birthday, she accidentally walked past your home study and happened to discover signs of the safe being broken into, so we came to the conclusion that there was an inside thief."

Fine, he could ignore the 'accidentally' and 'just happened to' but… Yan Si forced himself to swallow the mouthful of blood and asked through gritted teeth, "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"We were not the thief, so why should we say anything?" Ye Shuang replied. "Furthermore, even if we felt like bringing justice that day, who do you think we should approach? And how should we tell the story? We happened to realize that the safe of your family had been broken into, ha ha ha… like that?"

Yan Si choked.

"There's no point dwelling on the past." Ye Shuang waved her hand. "In any case, if you want to use our service, I suggest Su Zheng, but you will have to settle the issue of payment first."

How much was the payment? Yan Si asked and then instantly coughed out blood. 100,000 RMB! You dare to even ask for such a crazy number‽

"I'm not scamming you," Su Zheng replied on the phone, sounding helpless. "Most of the money will be used on tools, and I won't be getting that much personally. On top of that, there's the commission for Sister Shuang… Since it has been so long since the theft, looking for clues won't be something easy. After finding the thief, I still need to find a way to steal the stuff back. Do you think it's that simple?"

Yan Si took a deep breath and demanded in a firm voice, "Give me a discount!"

"Discount is impossible. How about buy one free one‽" Su Zheng expertly tried to bargain. "If you have something else that you want me to steal, I'll help you swipe one item, but it can only be limited to a family member, and the item cannot be worth more than 2,000."

Any purse that his family bought would be more than 2,000. What kind of use would he have for such an offer‽

After he wasted all his saliva and was unable to get a bargain, Yan Si finally accepted the truth and pulled down his face to ask for aid from his friends. Su Zheng received the confirmation from Ye Shuang that the case would be accepted, so she took the time to fly back to Shanghai.

The next day, Yan Si's friend who had once treated Ye Shuang to breakfast arrived, as did Su Zheng. Ye Shuang went to meet both of them early in the morning. She got everyone to sign the contract, and then the money changed hands. However, both Yan Si and his friend made the request to trade the extra 'gift' feature for the chance to see Su Zheng work in person.

…

"This is too much. Are you afraid that I might steal your money?" Su Zheng grumbled in the passenger seat. "This is work, not taking you guys to the zoo. Why do you insist on coming along to create trouble?"

Yan Si was about to slam his fist into the seat when his arm was pulled back by his friend. His friend said with a chuckle, "For one, we're bored, and for another, didn't you say most of the fee is for the tools? If you suddenly need money, I will be there to help you pay the bills… won't that be perfect, Sister Bun?"

Ye Shuang glanced at them through the mirror and laughed.

The youth was confused. Just as he was about to say something, Yan Si next to him quickly leaned forward to cover his mouth. Stop kidding! There are so many people for you to flirt with, and you want to flirt with her? If she wants to force herself onto you, she wouldn't even need outside help!

The youth was made even more confused. He looked at Yan Si for a while. Even though he did not understand what his friend was trying to communicate by blinking, he could briefly grasp Yan Si's intention. Oh, I shouldn't go after that woman?

The youth's interest dissipated instantly. He pulled down Yan Si's palm and asked, "So, where are we going now?"

If it was not that urgent, perhaps they could drop him by the road. Initially, the youth wanted to witness the real life 007 in action. Even though it was not that mysterious, that was the allure. However, in the end, it was something that could not be approached, so there was no point in him following. In that case, he might as well go to the movies with female university students…

Su Zheng was adjusting the GPS, and after hearing that, she explained patiently to the boss who paid the money, "Only a professional safe cracker could have broken into the safe. There are only two types of people with that technique—one is the official type. They often work together with the police, and these are the technicians that you can find from key-opening company. The other type is more underground, the type where their records cannot be found at the police station. Normally, they rarely use their technique to steal and will only occasionally do a big job.

"Those official ones normally have poor technique, often only able to help others to open front doors. Some have fallen into the hands of the police before, and even after they were released, they would be observed and had no choice but to turn over a new leaf… In any case, the chance of these people going to steal from the Yan family is not high because the former did not have the required technique, and there was too much risk for the latter." Su Zheng scratched her chin, and after dealing with the GPS, she found an iPad. "So, now we're focusing on the people from the underground. We'll ask around to hopefully find out who went to 'help' at the Yan family."

Yan Si had already been chased out of the family, so it was naturally impossible for him to lead the two girls back home. Then again, it would not serve much purpose to return to the crime scene. Any clues would have been cleaned already, and there was no camera in the study.

Therefore, Su Zheng could only depend on another lead, skip the clues, and go directly for the suspect.

The youth blinked. "I'm surprised you know these people."

"Actually, I'm really not familiar with the people in Shanghai." Su Zheng sighed. "The connections that I have, I got through Master Eight and my adopted father. Shanghai has many hidden masters, and this is not my home field. Thankfully, it is now a global village, and people move back and around. Thus, finding some connections is still possible." Su Zheng was really sad. The home field advantage was hard to be concluded in a few words.

For example, cases like Yan Si's. If it had happened in Su Zheng's city, then with just one call, in less than one hour, Su Zheng would have been talking on the phone with the thief who was hired. However, it would not be so simple in Shanghai. After all, she was an outsider, and it was another issue if the locals would give her face.

Ye Shuang followed the GPS and stopped at a residential area. It was a place that was outside of the city. It was not that vibrant, but it was definitely not too backward. Those who lived there had normal incomes, and that was on top of their reliance on inheritance. The status of the amenities was not bad, and there was no greenification of the place… If not for Su Zheng's guarantee, Yan Si and the youth would not have believed that the master whom they were looking for would be living there.

"The person we're looking for has an actual career as well. He meets people through his job." Before visiting the man, Su Zheng asked them to go to the store nearby to buy some snacks, and then she took her iPad and started to ask for directions. At the same time, she explained, "The man has a wife and children, so try to watch what you're saying. Let's not cause any family drama."

The youth and Yan Si found the investigation feeling less and less mysterious. They finally found the floor. The building did not have an elevator, so they had to use the stairs. They finally found the room. Su Zheng tried the doorbell, but there was no answer.

"Not home?" the youth guessed.

"He's probably stuck on the toilet." Su Zheng ignored the condescension on the youth's face and pressed the bell some more.

Eventually, a middle-aged man's voice came from inside. "We don't need insurance."

"We're not insurance agents," Su Zheng quickly answered. "You're Brother Cao, right?"

"We also don't need anything like dryers, knives, plates, pot, pan, and so on!" the man said with impatience. "My family has everything, and we don't need to buy anything! If you stay any longer, I'll sue you for infringement of privacy!"

He hated the buyers or banks that sold the clients' privacy the most. They thought that they could make him open the door by saying his name? In their dreams!