Chapter Ninety-Four: What Red Sister Wants Me to Do!

Her gaze remained calm.

“Wang Hu, you must understand that every step in this world is a calculation. Feelings are often the least valuable thing here.”

“I don’t know what’s between you and Xiao Mi, but one thing is certain: with a heart as soft as yours, you may not survive three exchanges before the Ten Great Families.”

“Feelings are worthless?” I gave a cold laugh. “Then why did you still try to persuade me to leave? Why did you even let me see your body that day at the stone gamble?”

A trace of change finally crossed Red Sister’s face, and a complicated emotion flickered in her eyes.

She drew a deep breath and said slowly, “Wang Hu, the truth you want to know may not be as simple as you think.”

“As for me stripping in front of you... that’s nothing. It’s not the first time I’ve undressed before a man. You needn’t imagine it means anything!”

I sneered. “Clever. Very clever indeed!”

“When I was working at your nightclub, plenty of people said Red Sister was a scarlet chain snake, not only alluring but poisonous too!”

“I’ve only ever seen you coil around people. Never once have I seen anyone coil around you!”

A bitter smile flashed across Red Sister’s face, as though she had recalled some unbearable memory.

She spoke slowly. “Wang Hu, you think you understand me, but in truth you understand nothing. What you see is only the side I want you to see.”

I laughed coldly. “Spare me the useless talk. You can deny that Xiao Mi is in your hands if you want, but I have one final request now: call Su Li out. I want to confront her face to face!”

Red Sister laughed coldly. “And why do you think Su Li is definitely in my hands?”

I let out a cold snort and said bluntly, “If Su Li were in Gao Youde’s hands, she’d probably already be tortured beyond recognition. She’s a woman. She knows how ruthless Gao Youde is. She’d rather side with you than choose him.”

A shadow passed through Red Sister’s eyes, but she quickly composed herself. Calmly, she said, “Wang Hu, you seem to think too highly of my methods.”

“Stop pretending,” I said icily. “Su Li is on your turf. I know that. There’s no need for you to keep hiding it.”

Red Sister was silent for a moment before finally sighing. “Fine. Since you insist, I’ll let you see Su Li. But I hope you understand this meeting won’t change anything.”

She turned and called toward the doorway. Before long, Su Li was brought in.

Her face was full of fatigue. When she saw me, a glint of cold hostility flashed in her eyes.

“Su Li,” I said, staring straight into her eyes, my tone firm, “when did you start following Red Sister?”

Su Li looked at Red Sister, then at me, and sneered. “What’s that to you?”

I frowned, faintly sensing that things were far more complicated than I had imagined.

“Su Li, you know where Xiao Mi is, don’t you?” I asked directly, no longer bothering with roundabout talk.

Su Li’s eyes flickered, but she quickly regained her composure.

Her gaze shifted to Red Sister, as though seeking some answer.

Red Sister gave Su Li a nod.

Su Li let out a cold laugh. “Wang Hu, do you really think you can save Xiao Mi? She’s already sunk too deep. There’s no coming back for her.”

My heart tightened, and rage burned in my chest. “Su Li, stop playing these tricks! Tell me, where exactly is Xiao Mi?”

Su Li gave a cold, mocking smile. “She went outside.”

I jolted. “Outside” was a coded phrase in our area.

What it really meant was that Xiao Mi had gone abroad.

My heart sank. In our city, going abroad often meant a near-death gamble.

Xiao Mi had actually taken such a huge risk!

“Su Li, which country did she go to?” I pressed urgently, my voice trembling despite myself.

Su Li sneered and said leisurely, “Wang Hu, you’re truly naive. Do you think I was that close to your Xiao Mi? Like she’d tell me?”

I clenched my teeth. The fury in my chest was almost enough to devour me.

“Su Li, you’d better stop wasting my time. Tell me her last known whereabouts!”

Su Li’s eyes grew even colder, as though my anger meant nothing to her.

She said slowly, “The last time she contacted me was at Open Gate.”

“Open Gate?” I nearly shouted, my anxiety becoming harder and harder to contain.

Open Gate was a small town at the border crossing.

It was also a place where locals often made temporary trips abroad.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t advise you to go looking for her. There’s no fate left between you two.” At last, Su Li relented, though her tone was still full of ridicule. “She said she was going somewhere no one could find her.”

My heart turned heavy, my eyes cold.

“Xiao Mi is absolutely not that kind of person... There must be some hidden reason why she left without saying goodbye!”

I looked at Su Li.

Su Li gave a contemptuous smile, as if she had seen through my thoughts. “You really are persistent, Wang Hu. Fine, I’ll tell you. The last time she contacted me, she mentioned some photos.”

“Photos?” I frowned, confusion mounting in my mind.

“Yes, photos.” Su Li went on, “She said those photos broke her heart. It was after seeing them that she decided to leave.”

“What kind of photos?” I stared hard at Su Li, trying to catch the slightest clue from her expression.

Su Li shrugged, unconcerned. “How would I know? She only mentioned them briefly, then disappeared.”

My anxiety only deepened.

Photos. What kind of photos could make Xiao Mi risk everything and go abroad? What secret lay hidden behind this?

“Su Li, where are those photos? Have you seen them?”

I refused to let go of even the faintest hope and kept pressing her.

Su Li looked at me coldly and shook her head. “Wang Hu, I’ve already told you everything I know. If you still refuse to give up, then go find her yourself.”

I took a deep breath and forced down the fury in my heart, then turned to Red Sister.

“Red Sister, you knew all along I was going after Gao Youde, yet you cooperated with him to swallow me whole. Now I can’t quite tell who you really are to me: my benefactor, or my enemy!”

Red Sister gave a cold laugh, a trace of disdain curling at the corner of her mouth. “Wang Hu, you don’t need to think so highly of my identity. I’m the kind of person who only recognizes money, not people.”

Her voice was cold, like a sharp blade stabbing straight into my heart.

I clenched my fists, drew a deep breath, and forced myself to calm down. “Red Sister, I don’t care whether you recognize people or not, but this matter involving Xiao Mi, I have to get to the bottom of it. If I find out you’re involved, you won’t escape responsibility!”

Red Sister raised a brow, seemingly unmoved by my threat.

“Wang Hu, if you’ve got the ability, go find Xiao Mi yourself. I’ve already said everything I needed to say.”

As she spoke, she suddenly added, “By the way, some things ought to be returned to me too, shouldn’t they?”

“Red Sister, I really haven’t returned Blood-Eyed Jade Appraisal to you yet, but this isn’t the time to talk about that.”

I worked hard to keep my tone calm.

“Wang Hu, don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” Red Sister said coldly, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

I knew Red Sister was not someone to be trifled with. What I owed her had to be returned, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

But truthfully, as for Blood-Eyed Jade Appraisal, to this day I had only felt I had grasped the second layer. I had a vague sense that there was something even deeper hidden within it.

Returning it to Red Sister right now was absolutely impossible.

You could say I was thick-skinned, but did that matter?

But Xiao Mi’s matter was also urgent, and I had to resolve it.

“However, Red Sister, I can promise you this: once I find Xiao Mi, I’ll return Blood-Eyed Jade Appraisal to you immediately.”

I said firmly, trying to move her with my sincerity.

In the end, she sneered. “You and I have no more fate left between us. In this situation, if you want to borrow Blood-Eyed Jade Appraisal for now, fine. But don’t expect to deal with me the way you used to, as if feelings mattered!”

Red Sister looked at me with a cold smile. “You have to pay extra! For every day you keep Blood-Eyed Jade Appraisal, you must pay me a rental fee! Until the day you decide to return it to me!”

“And we must draw up a contract!”

I furrowed my brows, knowing this was exactly how Red Sister was...

She never did anything that wasn’t worth the effort. Money meant a great deal to her.

But with Xiao Mi’s matter pressing down on me, I had no better choice.

“Fine. I’ll sign the contract, but you need to give me a reasonable sum for the rent.”

I replied coldly.

Red Sister’s mouth curved slightly upward, clearly satisfied with my compromise. “Ten thousand a day. Not a cent less.”

I cursed inwardly, though my face remained calm. “Deal.”

We quickly drafted a contract, and a trace of triumph flashed in Red Sister’s eyes.

Her expression brightened as she looked at me. “I have to say, Wang Hu, I really must praise you. Not long ago you were still working as a sales assistant in my nightclub, and now you dare to sign a contract for ten thousand a day in rent with me—”

“It seems Red Sister was right not to misjudge you. One day, you’ll truly make something of yourself!”

Facing her praise, laced with hidden meaning, I tossed the pen aside.

“Red Sister, did you call me here today for anything else?”

Red Sister glanced at the agreement in her hand, smiled faintly, then looked at me and said, “From now on, Su Li is my person... and as for you, if you want to get by in this city, you’d better stay away from Su Li!”

“Otherwise, you’ll be making an enemy of me, Red Sister...”

“I invited you here. Besides telling you this, it was also for this farewell meal...”

With that, she clapped her hands, and the same aunt from before began serving the dishes.

“Do you dare eat this, Wang Hu?”