CH 97

Zhou Qingbo ended up making that trip to Shanghai.

Although he knew that the outcome of this journey was likely either an attempt to lure him into a pyramid scheme or an outright scam, he still felt that if he missed this seemingly “200,000 yuan for a store building” opportunity due to fear, he might regret it in his future.

Pei You had always unconditionally supported his decisions, with just one condition— if anything suspicious happened, Zhou Qingbo must inform him immediately.

Zhou Qingbo himself had some doubts in his mind, so he declined the invitation to view the store. Instead, he however arranged the first meeting at a cafe near the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Located in the city center and always bustling with tourists, Zhou Qingbo thought that even if the other party was part of a pyramid scheme, they probably couldn’t kidnap him there.

His mind was filled with countless thoughts, ranging from self-saving from a scam to a full-scale alien invasion. By the time he landed in Shanghai, his mind had already progressed to aliens invading Earth.

The area around the Oriental Pearl Tower operated regardless of whether it was weekdays or weekends, and tourists were always present. Zhou Qingbo, following his navigation, walked along the street and found his destination through some twists and turns.

It was now three in the afternoon. There were scattered people in the cafe. Zhou Qingbo put away his phone, subconsciously adjusted the collar of his windbreaker, pushed the door open, and entered the cafe.

The clear sound of the welcome bell echoed as he entered. The barista behind the counter instinctively put on a polite and perfect smile, inquiring about what he wanted to drink.

“I won’t order just yet,” Zhou Qingbo said, “I’m waiting for someone. We’ll order together.”

The barista blinked at his words, observing him for a moment. Then, she asked, “May I ask if you’re waiting for a young lady?”

“Yes,” Zhou Qingbo said unexpectedly, “How did you know?”

“She’s already here,” the barista took a sticky note with Zhou Qingbo’s age description on it from the cash register and smiled, then leaned slightly over the counter, gesturing towards a semi-open booth deep in the cafe, “She’s waiting for you over there.”

Following the direction the barista pointed, Zhou Qingbo saw a very young girl sitting at the targeted booth. Her long hair flowed down, dressed in a white dress. She sat facing the entrance and, upon seeing Zhou Qingbo look at her, she raised her hand and waved with a smile.

There was already a drink in front of the girl. Therefore, Zhou Qingbo ordered a dessert, just for formality, and walked towards her under her gaze.

“Hello, nice to meet you,” Zhou Qingbo, who usually acted dignified in front of strangers, stood by the table opposite the girl. He extended his hand with a smile, shaking hands with her.

“I’m Zhou Qingbo.”

“I’m Wu Lili,” she seemed to ignore the first half of Zhou Qingbo’s greeting, smiling as she said, “Thank you for coming all this way. I indeed couldn’t come to Beijing for the meeting due to some inconvenience.”

“It’s nothing, it’s my pleasure,” Zhou Qingbo took off his windbreaker and sat down across from the girl, casually saying, “When it comes to business, a little travel expense is nothing.”

“That’s good. I’ll get straight to the point,” Wu Lili picked up a thick file bag from her side, untied the string, and took out a stack of property documents. She spread them out on the table one by one.

Zhou Qingbo glanced at them and was surprised to find out that she was holding the original documents.

It seemed that the pyramid scheme organization couldn’t make their scam look this authentic. Zhou Qingbo gave Wu Lili a surprised look and, as if anticipating his reaction, she hurriedly interrupted him.

“However, you’ve already paid 1.2 million,” Wu Lili said, “So, the remaining payment is only 200,000 yuan.”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

Zhou Qingbo was dumbfounded for two seconds, and unusually for him, he didn’t keep up his pretense in front of others. He said, bewildered, “When did I make the first payment?”

“Right here,” Wu Lili smiled, tapped her chest, and gestured, “I’ve already received it.”

“No, no, no.” Zhou Qingbo subconsciously leaned back and laughed awkwardly a few times. He said, “This won’t work, miss. I’m already in a relationship.”

Wu Lili chuckled upon hearing that, not offering any explanation. She simply reached under the table and retrieved something.

Only at this moment did Zhou Qingbo notice that Wu Lili had been holding a cane in her hand under the table the whole time.

Using the cane for support, she stood up and, in Zhou Qingbo’s stunned gaze, she laboriously moved away from the table. Zhou Qingbo instinctively reached out to help her, then suddenly realized that everything below her right thigh had disappeared, leaving just the skirt hanging in the air, vaguely outlining the shape of a severed limb.

Zhou Qingbo was speechless and stuttered, “This…”

“Mr. Zhou, you really don’t remember me.” Wu Lili smiled, covering most of her face with her hand, revealing only her eyes. She blinked at Zhou Qingbo and said, “How about now?”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

The limited perspective suddenly became familiar. Zhou Qingbo squinted his eyes, suddenly remembering where that sense of familiarity had come from.

“You, you’re the one from that, that town’s elementary school—”

“Yes!” Wu Lili smiled with her eyes open, “It’s me. You finally remember.”

Zhou Qingbo wasn’t face-blind, but the last time he saw Wu Lili was in the ruins, covered in blood and dirt, her face obscured. He couldn’t even tell her hair length, let alone recognize her face.

Back in the southern province, they had once rescued the injured at a local town’s elementary school after a rescue mission. While waiting for transport, Zhou Qingbo suddenly heard faint tapping nearby, like pebbles hitting concrete, dull and rhythmic.

His first thought was that someone was still trapped inside, but the sound was brief, lasting only two or three taps. By the time the rescue team returned to search, the sound had vanished, and no one responded.

The school’s security and teachers had all been accounted for, and aside from teachers and students, no one else had entered the campus that day. So, the team leader comforted Zhou Qingbo, suggesting that he might have been overly tense, mistaking sounds for danger, which was common in rescue missions.

However, Zhou Qingbo remained persistent. He was sure he heard a cry for help. Thus, he insisted on a second search of the area.

Fortunately, the rescue team took him seriously. Despite the low probability, they dug alongside him. After an entire afternoon of digging, they worked their way from the corner of the school to the backyard, where Zhou Qingbo finally pulled Wu Lili out from under the rubble of a brick building.

She was covered in blood and unconscious, without identification or any way to contact family. So, after transferring their group of wounded to the nearest hospital, Zhou Qingbo left his contact information with the nurses, in case they needed help with medical expenses due to the absence of family.

Thankfully, on the third day, the nurse called him, informing that the girl had been claimed by her family, who had settled the medical bills. Thus, Zhou Qingbo didn’t think much of it and put the incident behind him.

“I was actually there for a stroll,” Wu Lili chuckled lightly. “I saw the wild area behind the school was lovely, so I wanted to take a few photos. I entered through the back gate—no one saw me at the time. If it weren’t for your insistence on digging, I might not have held on much longer.”

“So, you saved me,” Wu Lili said. “This 12 million is buying my life.”

Seeing someone he personally rescued again, Zhou Qingbo’s emotions were all over the place. He looked down at Wu Lili’s empty skirt and found it hard to speak. He managed to offer some consolation, “Um, it’s nothing….. anyone in my place would have done the same. It just happened to be me.”

“It’s alright. I think it’s good enough to keep my life,” Wu Lili responded optimistically. “But no matter what, it was you who heard my cry for help and pulled me out. Now, you happen to need a store too. It’s all quite coincidental.”

Zhou Qingbo hadn’t expected such a coincidence, but he believed he had only done what anyone else would in the same situation. Thus, he smiled and shook his head, “I appreciate your kindness, but this wasn’t solely my doing.”

“This was actually my grandfather’s idea to contact you,” Wu Lili said. “When he came to pick me up from the hospital, he learned about your request from the nurse. He told me then, that if the opportunity arose, we should repay you.”

Wu Lili smiled and added, “You don’t need to feel awkward about taking the money. Honestly, my grandfather and I are leaving the country soon, and this store was meant to be sold anyway. You just happened to need it at this moment.”

“My parents went abroad for work when I was young. Once they were settled, they stayed there permanently,” Wu Lili explained. “They wanted to bring me and my grandfather over years ago, but he refused to leave the old house. He’s always been sentimental and attached to it.”

The old man loved his home, his memories, and preferred to stay with his little granddaughter rather than enjoy his old age in unfamiliar surroundings.

“It wasn’t until my accident that he realized people are more important than anything else,” Wu Lili said. “My family isn’t short on money, and when we got this store, we didn’t expect to profit much from it. The 200,000 yuan is what we paid for it, and the rest of the amount, my grandfather wants to gift to you as a token of gratitude. You not only saved his beloved granddaughter but were also willing to cover medical expenses for a stranger.”

“Truthfully, I’m still a bit overwhelmed,” Zhou Qingbo finally chuckled after a pause. “It’s like a cheesy plot from a romance novel on Yilin Magazine. I didn’t expect it to happen in real life.”

“Life is often more illogical than literature,” Wu Lili said, sitting back on the couch and taking a sip of sparkling water. “So, what do you think? Will you accept it? If so, we can complete the formalities tomorrow.“

“A luck like this is hard to resist, even if I try,” Zhou Qingbo admitted. “But I still feel a bit undeserving.”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Wu Lili reassured him. “Consider it a gift from fate to a kind-hearted person.”