Chapter 40: The Scheme
Chapter 40: The Scheme
Qing Shui's face exuded a sense of security.
The little girl, her eyes red from crying, looked up at him. Meeting his sincere gaze, she hesitated before nodding, "I live in Niyi Lane."
Feng Xuanrui: ?
He had never heard of it.
After all, they weren't familiar with this small town.
Sui Sui knew even less. She only knew the name of her village, nothing beyond that.
Fortunately, Qing Shan, being older, had heard of the lane, although he didn't recognize it either. He smiled and asked passersby for directions.
After asking for directions, the group escorted the little girl back.
As there were many people around, they deliberately took a detour through less busy alleys.
Even in the quieter alleys, the light was decent due to the festive atmosphere in the city. The occasional hanging lanterns illuminated their path, making their journey easier.
When the light dimmed, Sui Sui felt a little scared and gently tugged on Feng Xuanrui's sleeve.
Although Feng Xuanrui was kind enough to help, he didn't forget about his sister.
Sensing her fear, he took her hand and said, "Don't be afraid, sister. I'm here."
Sui Sui nodded obediently.
As the group walked further, they remained unaware that not far behind them, Qing Wang and Zhan Gao watched with complex expressions.
After seeing them walk away for a while, the two men quickly and quietly caught up.
Zhan Gao was unsure if he should ask whether they should rescue the young master and the young lady.
Yes, rescue!
These naive boys and innocent girls had no idea that in this world...
There were scams that targeted children.
Because they were kind-hearted and easily deceived, and also because if things went awry, they would be the easiest to deal with.
With minimal effort, one could achieve maximum gain.
Earlier, when the crowd rushed forward, Qing Wang and Zhan Gao had been separated from the others.
They had originally planned to go back and find Liu Dafu.
However, as their gazes shifted, they noticed Feng Xuanrui and his group talking to a little girl.
If it had been a normal act of kindness, Qing Wang wouldn't have interfered.
But he noticed that the little girl who was being helped by Feng Xuanrui and his companions was being watched by at least six pairs of eyes.
This seemed abnormal.
Qing Wang's sharp senses allowed him to identify several individuals who were secretly observing the little girl.
He could clearly see the scrutiny, assessment, and malice in their eyes, even from a distance.
With this, Qing Wang understood.
This was most likely a scam!
He considered whether to step forward and directly expose it.
However, the world of children was too simple.
Sometimes, when Feng Xuanrui's rebellious streak surfaced, he might not listen even if they spoke up.
Instead of wasting time and effort on lecturing, it was better to let them experience it firsthand...
The terror of scams.
With him and Zhan Gao around, they need not worry about those villains using despicable means to harm the children.
The two men quietly followed, maintaining a distance that wouldn't arouse suspicion but allowed them to keep a close eye.
At this moment, Feng Xuanrui was unaware of what awaited him ahead.
Looking at the little girl beside him, her eyes red from crying, occasionally glancing at them timidly, and then at his sister, who was walking obediently while holding his hand, Feng Xuanrui thought to himself: His sister was indeed cuter!
Feng Xuanrui wasn't a greedy person.
He felt that having one sister was enough! So, having Sui Sui was more than sufficient.
Although this little girl looked pitiful when she cried and seemed rather adorable, Feng Xuanrui didn't have any thoughts of bringing her back to their mansion and adopting her as a sister.
Feng Xuanrui didn't understand the concept of a "special connection." However, he trusted his instincts. He felt that Sui Sui was the perfect little sister, and that was enough; nothing else mattered.
Sui Sui, too, was unaware of the concept of helping others. She simply followed her brother when she saw him going to help that young girl. No one had taught her these life lessons, and the system only took the opportunity to lecture her when incidents occurred. At other times, as a blank slate, the system thought it best to let the myriad aspects of the world gradually add color to her life.
The system had suspected that this might be a scam. It even tried to explain to Sui Sui the possibility of it being a deception. But...
Sui Sui didn't even know what a scam was. Merely explaining the concept of a scam and its diverse nature took quite a bit of time.
Feng Xuanrui and his companions escorted the little girl to Niyi Lane. Her home was in a corner location, a small independent courtyard that seemed to belong to a fairly well-off family.
After knocking on the door, they were greeted by a kind elderly woman, and the little girl, tears still in her eyes, cried out, "Ah Nai."
While Feng Xuanrui and the others didn't join in calling the woman that, they merely explained the situation and prepared to leave, as they had been out for quite some time and figured Wang Shu and the others would be worried by now.
The old woman, upon seeing them about to leave, quickly smiled and said, "Thank you so much for bringing Si Niang back. This old lady is eternally grateful, and although we don't have anything particularly valuable to offer, would you at least come in and have a drink to wet your throats?"
While Feng Xuanrui wasn't interested in having a drink, the woman's enthusiasm was such that he ultimately couldn't refuse.
The four of them entered the small courtyard, and Zhan Gao, who had been following at a distance, began to cover his eyes.
In his heart, he sighed: "Young Master Six, where is your pride? Your caution? To so casually enter a stranger's home? This isn't the capital! There, you can stride confidently into anyone's home without a care. But out here, it's different!"
Unfortunately, he had no way of conveying this, and Feng Xuanrui also couldn't think of it.
Once inside, the old woman warmly welcomed them to have a drink.
Qing Shan and Qing Shui were more cautious, smilingly refusing the offer, but when their refusals were repeatedly rebuffed, they reluctantly took the cups in their hands without actually drinking from them.
Feng Xuanrui didn't even touch his cup. The quality was rather mediocre, and the young master was too disdainful to consider drinking from it, but he also didn't want to be impolite. So, not touching it at all seemed the best option.
Sui Sui, on the other hand, simply followed her brother's lead. Since he wasn't drinking, she didn't drink either! The old woman noticed this, and seeing the four children so vigilant, she gave a subtle signal to someone behind them.
Before Feng Xuanrui and the others even had a chance to turn around and see what was happening, they were grabbed and gagged!
The four of them were then tied up and thrown into the wood shed.
It was only then that Feng Xuanrui finally realized that they had likely been deceived. But why?
That little girl had looked so pitiful while crying!
Feng Xuanrui couldn't understand why this had happened, and he wanted to call out, but he couldn't make a sound with the dirty old rags stuffed in his mouth.
"Ahhh, young master that I am, today I am truly dirty all over!" Feng Xuanrui felt both angry and frustrated, and then he couldn't hold back his tears anymore.
Sui Sui, however, didn't cry. She was currently listening to the system analyze the situation and explain what they should do if this indeed turned out to be a scam.
Although Qing Wang and the others would surely notice something was amiss and come to their rescue, it was important, in the meantime, to ensure their own safety and not give the kidnappers any reason to harm them out of desperation.
(End of Chapter)
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