When Xiao Wenyu heard that Xiao Yi had been seriously injured and hospitalized, he nearly fell out of his hospital bed.
Ignoring the injury to his stomach, he seized his subordinate by the collar, hauled him close, and demanded furiously, “Who the fuck told them to attack him?! Didn’t I say to take the item and leave him unharmed? Didn’t you tell them?”
The subordinate trembled.
“I did. Several times.”
“Then what the fuck happened? Tell me what happened!”
The more Xiao Wenyu thought about it, the more frightened he became.
Years ago, his father had merely insulted Xiao Yi a few times and ended up with a crippled leg. Several of his father’s siblings had also died under suspicious circumstances. If Xiao Yi discovered who had ordered this, he would never spare him.
He hurriedly asked, “Where are Redhead and his men?”
The subordinate stammered, “…They’ve all been arrested.”
“All of them?!”
This time, Xiao Wenyu actually jumped out of bed.
“Xiao Yi only had one fucking assistant with him. Redhead had all those men and a gun, and you’re telling me they were all arrested?”
The subordinate had no idea how to explain it.
Even without a gun, Redhead’s men should have been able to overpower a pampered tycoon and his assistant. Yet everything he’d heard said they had all been caught—
Wait.
Something occurred to him.
“The police said one person escaped. He took something valuable with him, too.”
Xiao Wenyu’s heart tightened.
“What valuable item?”
“The station said it was Mr. Xiao’s coat, but it can’t just be a coat. Apparently, the Yalong Bay station chief fainted on the spot. Afterward, the case was transferred to the municipal bureau.”
“…”
Xiao Wenyu had a good idea now.
The missing item was probably the Emperor’s Tear.
That would surely ruin Xiao Ji’s marriage alliance with the Qiao Group. However much Xiao Yi favored him, the board would never approve his promotion to deputy general manager now.
Feeling a little better, he asked, “Where’s the guy who took it?”
Cold sweat broke out on the subordinate’s forehead.
“…I don’t know.”
“…”
The room fell silent.
Xiao Wenyu stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief.
“You don’t know? You hired him, and you’re telling me you don’t know?”
The subordinate went pale.
“Of course I know the people I hired. But I didn’t hire him… There were only supposed to be seven. All seven, including Redhead, were arrested. The one who escaped was an eighth person.”
“…”
Now Xiao Wenyu was sweating too.
“Couldn’t Redhead have brought in someone extra at the last minute?”
“Impossible. I warned them this had to stay completely secret. If even one extra person found out, they wouldn’t get a cent, and we’d come after them. Redhead wouldn’t do something that stupid.”
“Then where the fuck did the eighth person come from?”
…
“Achoo!”
Song Liang sneezed in a private room at an internet café. Still playing his game, he asked casually, “System, why hasn’t anyone come to arrest me yet?”
【…】
Since escaping the cruise ship that night, the man and system hadn’t even returned to the original owner’s university, hoping to avoid trouble from Xiao Wenyu and Xiao Ji.
They had spent nearly a week hiding out at the internet café.
During that time, Song Liang had learned to use the internet and become absorbed in several games. Yet no one had come for them. Things were so peaceful that 3085 was beginning to suspect a bug in its algorithm.
When it remained silent, Song Liang didn’t press the issue. He simply held his stomach and said, “I’m hungry.”
【Then eat.】
“I have no money.”
【Serves you right.】
Although the internet café was their base, Song Liang hadn’t deprived himself of anything. At night, he stayed in a nearby hotel; during the day, he returned to play games. His food, drinks, and other necessities were all good quality.
He showed none of the restraint one might expect from someone on the run, and soon spent more than half the modest sum available through the original owner’s phone.
After buying a new phone and replacing his SIM card as well, he had only eighty-five yuan left.
Song Liang considered this.
“Eighty-five yuan could still buy a decent meal.”
3085 sneered. 【And then you can eat shit for the next one.】
Song Liang: “…”
Song Liang felt this wasn’t his fault. The original owner was to blame.
Over the past few days, as fragments of the original owner’s memories gradually returned to him, he had discovered that this rich heir was more than a simp. He was a complete sucker.
Not only had he showered Xiao Ji with gifts and flowers, he had also supported a crowd of fair-weather friends who treated him like an ATM.
They looked down on him for being an illegitimate son, yet deliberately encouraged him to pursue Xiao Ji, offering all sorts of advice while waiting to laugh at his failures.
The original owner had believed they genuinely considered him a friend. Deeply moved, he had handed over money with boundless enthusiasm.
Of every ten people in his WeChat conversations, eight were asking him for money. Not one was paying him back.
“Heh.”
Song Liang yawned, shut down the computer, and headed out.
3085 startled. 【It isn’t even dark yet. Where are you going?】
Song Liang put on his newly purchased baseball cap and pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek.
“To collect debts.”
The original owner might have been useless, but he was certainly a dedicated simp.
A poor student who couldn’t even pass mathematics, he had nevertheless gained admission to Jianglin University’s oil painting program through the arts entrance examinations—all to attend the same university as Xiao Ji.
Fortunately, the Song family had money, and Mrs. Song was delighted that he had chosen a field entirely unrelated to business.
He had therefore spent three years at the same university as Xiao Ji, doting on him the entire time, until Song Liang took over his body at Xiao Ji’s engagement banquet.
Walking across the Jianglin University campus, Song Liang asked the system in his mind, “If I’ve taken over this body, where did the original Song Liang go?”
【His consciousness data will be retrieved by the main system, restructured, and deployed into other instances.】
“Quite environmentally friendly.”
He had barely finished speaking when someone stopped him.
A long-haired girl smiled and held out her phone.
“Hey, you’re really handsome. Can I add you on WeChat?”
“…”
Song Liang glanced at the friend QR code on her screen, opened WeChat, and scanned it.
“Sure.”
Her smile brightened. Opening the friend request screen, she asked, “What’s your name? So I can save it.”
“Song Liang.”
“…”
She paused, then smiled again.
“What a coincidence. There’s a Song Liang in my department too.”
“What department are you in?”
“Oil painting, class of 2025.”
“Me too.”
“…”
Her smile stiffened.
“Huh?”
Song Liang opened his class’s WeChat group, found his profile picture, and showed it to her.
“I’m that Song Liang.”
She stared at him in disbelief. Fear crept across her face, and her voice trembled.
“…Aren’t you dead?”
Song Liang: “…Who told you that?”
She looked even more frightened. After checking the shadow at his feet and examining his face again, she confirmed that he really was the Song Liang she knew.
Then she answered shakily, “…Your roommate. He said you went to Xiao Ji’s engagement banquet, failed to win him over, and jumped into the sea to die for love.”
“Which roommate?”
“Duan Yan.”
“…”
A familiar name.
The person who had received the most transfers from his phone.
Song Liang put his phone away.
“Do you know where he is now?”
As it happened, she did.
“I think he went to a bar to celebrate his birthday.”
Song Liang immediately turned to leave, but she timidly called after him.
He looked back.
“Anything else?”
She regarded him hesitantly.
“…Is today the seventh day after your death?”
Song Liang: “…”
An hour later, a taxi stopped outside a bar called DOLL.
Wearing a gray hoodie and a black baseball cap, Song Liang stepped out. He raised an eyebrow at the flashing sign above the entrance and asked, “You’re sure he’s inside?”
【Positive.】
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