Chapter 24: Boasting

After all the excitement, it felt like waking from a lively dream.

The dark night sky lay under the silver moonlight, and the quiet atmosphere made the red glow of the lanterns in the courtyard look eerie.

Li Luo stepped out of the bathroom. Paired with this scene, the sudden cough from behind made her hair stand on end. She clutched her chest and turned around. Seeing it was Qin Mian, and not Qin Jun, she scolded lightly, “You scared me to death!”

Qin Mian’s lips curled faintly. Her anger sounded more like a pout, oddly adorable. “If you don’t do guilty things, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door in the middle of the night.”

Li Luo: “…” Lunatic!

She walked back to her room, sat on the stool at her desk, and began drying her hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the young man standing in front of the wardrobe. Dressed all in black, tall and straight-backed, his short-sleeved shirt tucked into his waistband, he looked impossibly long-legged. By her estimate, his legs made up nearly seventy percent of his height—he had to be over a meter eighty.

My god!

When Qin Mian turned his head, he met her unblinking stare. Was she worried he’d find the money she had hidden? “What are you looking at?”

Li Luo froze. Under the lamplight, his face looked even more striking. The warm yellow glow acted like a beauty filter, making his features look refined, pure, and aloof—an untouchable kind of sacred beauty. “You… so handsome! Truly handsome! A face like the autumn moon, complexion like the spring dawn, brows like painted ink, eyes like rippling waves—natural elegance beyond compare!”

Qin Mian: “… Talking nonsense again.”

In order to protect her smuggling money, she even put this much effort into spouting idioms and poetry offhand.

Her family had always called her foolish and brash. To him, she was more like outwardly silly but inwardly shrewd—cunning and calculating.

Li Luo snapped back to her senses. She had almost drowned in his devastating good looks.

She reminded herself sternly: she must not be lustful. Getting close to men only brought misfortune. Men would only slow down her pace of making money. Falling in love with one would mean bad luck for three lifetimes.

With that thought, she snorted, “Hmph! You don’t understand romance!” Tossing the towel aside, she lay down to sleep.

Qin Mian: “…”

That night, Li Luo dreamed she was slim again, struggling in a rushing river. Terrified of death, she desperately grasped at something and finally clung to a log as thick as a bowl. Exhausted, she fell asleep in the dream.

When she opened her eyes in the morning, the first thing she saw was the young man’s handsome profile.

She was hugging his arm, her thigh draped across his body. Startled, she released him and sat up. Looking around, she realized she had somehow crawled into his bed.

Had he slept too deeply, or had he simply given up resisting?

Just as she was about to slip out, he woke. His voice was faint: “My arm and leg are numb.”

Li Luo guiltily kept quiet.

He didn’t pursue the matter further, simply got up and left.

Only after he exited did Li Luo rise to wash up. While brushing her teeth, she heard chirping in the courtyard. She followed the sound and found a cluster of chicks, catching one in her palm to play with.

Old Madam Qin said, “Luo Luo, your second sister’s family is leaving on the 10:30 train today. When they come, go with A-Mian to see them off.”

“Sure,” Li Luo agreed readily. It was only seven o’clock—plenty of time.

After breakfast, Li Luo put down her bowl, planning to jog to the scrapyard and then return in time to accompany Qin Mian.

When she reached the middle of the courtyard, Qin Mian called, “Running? Wait for me.”

“I’m used to running alone.” Li Luo dashed off.

How could she make money with him tagging along?

Qin Mian set down his bowl and chased after her. Back in the northwest, whenever he asked to run with her, she had always agreed. Today she refused—clearly she was up to something. But by the time he reached the gate, she was already gone. Short legs, yet surprisingly fast.

Li Luo, worried he might follow, slipped into an alley and exited from the back of the house, reaching the scrapyard ten minutes early.

As usual, she bought breakfast for Uncle, tossing a bun to the guard dog as she passed.

Uncle had already unloaded the goods. Laughing, he said, “You brought me breakfast again? I’ve already eaten.”

“Then have it for lunch,” Li Luo said, setting down the meat buns and fried dough sticks, then chatted idly with him.

Uncle mentioned that lately a lot of buttons had been discarded near the button factory. “Want to pick them up and sell them?”

Li Luo wasn’t keen on branching into new trades. “I’ll check later,” she said vaguely.

Just then, the buyers arrived.

Li Luo took the payment, beaming. One hundred thirty-five yuan. After deducting what went to the soap factory, she still had about forty-five left. She was making it big!

After they took their goods, she added, “Next time, don’t pick up the goods here.” She gave them a new location, a courtyard near the mall.

“That place is crowded. If we’re caught, it’ll be serious.”

“I’ve checked. It’s the mall’s unloading area. The more dangerous the place, the safer it is. If people see you, they’ll think you work for the mall. And if the staff ask, just say you’re new.”

“That’s too scary.”

Li Luo scoffed, “We’re the ones delivering and we’re not scared. What are you so afraid of? Business is about who dares to take risks.”

They realized she had a point and agreed to follow her instructions next time.

Once they left, Uncle looked uneasy. “I’m not too sure about delivering there either.”

Li Luo, puffed up with bravado, assured him, “Don’t worry, I’ve got connections. If something really happens, I’ll get you out.”

“Connections? Who?”

“That’s a secret, Uncle. But think about it—how could a girl like me run this business without someone backing me? And you know me, I’m fair and won’t cheat you.” She settled his freight fee and even added an extra yuan. “This is your bonus. From now on, for each box delivered to the mall, your fee goes up to two jiao. How about that?”

Her casual generosity and promise of higher pay made sense to him. A young girl supplying goods to a group of men clearly had strong backing. His worries evaporated as he pocketed the money. “Alright.”

Just then, Liu Erwang and Cheng Jianshe showed up, bringing along two of the four men they’d recruited earlier.

Liu and Cheng each wanted one box.

The other two wanted twenty boxes altogether.

“The soap didn’t sell at first, but once we said it was medicinal soap, it sold out instantly.”

“Yeah, one box wasn’t nearly enough.”

Li Luo gestured for them to pay. They readily handed over three hundred yuan.

Her hands trembled.

Together with the earlier deal, she now had four hundred thirty-five yuan!

Liu Erwang and Cheng Jianshe stared in shock.

Li Luo calmly pocketed the money, smiling. “See? I told you it would sell.” Then she turned to the two newcomers. “Yu Gang, Wang Cheng, don’t come here for pickup. I’ll deliver to your shops directly. What’s the address?”

She still remembered the greedy look Liu and Cheng had shown that night. The thought of it made her uneasy.

This place wasn’t safe anymore.

That was why she’d moved the earlier buyers to the mall. As for Yu Gang and Wang Cheng, since they ran legitimate shops, even large deliveries wouldn’t raise suspicion.

After settling everything, she left.