Chapter 18: So Much for Cleanliness.

The alley was narrow and cramped, filled with a musty dampness that had lingered for years.

Zhou Cong frowned, his handsome brows knit tightly. “What does this have to do with Ji Huailuo? Didn’t we agree on something before? Weren’t you supposed to stop changing how you address me?”

“You told me to call my Big Brother just ‘Brother,’” Xu Zhiqiao looked exasperated. “But my Big Brother told me not to call you ‘Big Brother.’ Why don’t the two of you fight it out and decide?”

She was caught in the middle like the cream in a sandwich cookie—utterly fed up.

Zhou Cong’s lashes fluttered in disbelief. “Your brother told you not to call me Big Brother?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is he crazy?”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like the look of you.”

“…”

Xu Zhiqiao continued walking ahead.

Zhou Cong stood frozen for a few seconds before catching up quickly. “Do the two of you talk trash about me at home?”

“No,” Xu Zhiqiao found him impossibly vain. “At most, we talk about Er De. You don’t even come up.”

“…I rank below Er De?”

“….” Xu Zhiqiao picked up her pace. “Brother Zhou Cong, just go back. Why are you following me?”

Hands in his pockets, Zhou Cong ducked his head as he passed under a row of hanging bedsheets. “To treat you to a meal.”

“I’m not going.”

“You’re not having lunch?”

“I’ll eat on my own.”

“Perfect,” Zhou Cong smiled. “I’m not familiar with this area. I’ll tag along with you.”

“…”

He had to be bluffing.

He grew up in Shenzhen City…

Then again, maybe he really wasn’t familiar.

This was an old urban renewal zone, not yet under construction. Everything around was dilapidated. A pampered Young Master like Zhou Cong, used only to private and upscale places, probably had never set foot here.

The bank was now within sight.

Since she wasn’t depositing much, Xu Zhiqiao didn’t need the counter. She could use the self-service deposit machine.

The machine was near the back entrance, which looked just as run-down as the alley. The doorknob’s silver paint was flaking off, and there were smudges of unknown black grime on it.

Zhou Cong clicked his tongue in disgust, batting her hand away just as she was about to open the door. “Filthy.”

“…” Xu Zhiqiao tilted her head up at him. “Then why don’t you show me how to walk through walls?”

Catching the sarcasm in her voice, Zhou Cong licked his lips, oozing with roguish charm. “Got any tissues? Your Big Brother really can’t bring himself to touch that.”

Xu Zhiqiao was about to lose it. “I wasn’t even asking you to touch it!”

“Still, better I touch it than you,” Zhou Cong said.

“…”

Screw. You.

Was this a stalemate?

Utterly frustrated, Xu Zhiqiao unzipped her backpack, remembering she had a pack of tissues and sanitizing wipes inside.

But the moment the zipper opened, she froze. Her expression suddenly shifted to panic.

Zhou Cong immediately dropped the playful attitude, face turning serious. “What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhiqiao crouched down, turning the backpack upside down and dumping everything out in one go.

“The money’s gone…” she rummaged through the clutter, her voice trembling. “I definitely put it in here. A whole thick stack…”

How could it be gone?

Ten thousand yuan.

Crisp, brand new bills.

The band was still wrapped around them.

So how could it just vanish?

“Don’t panic,” Zhou Cong crouched down beside her, grabbing her frantic hands in his, lifting the backpack with his other hand. “Are you sure you put it in here?”

Xu Zhiqiao’s mind was a fog, but she followed his lead. “I’m sure.”

Zhou Cong’s eyes, the color of ash, locked onto hers. “Did you open the bag in between?”

“No,” her nose reddened slightly. “I put the money in the bag, then took the bus. There were customers at the shop when I got there, so I just tossed the bag in the cabinet. I never opened it again.”

“Could someone else open the cabinet?”

“…No. Even if they could, they wouldn’t. It was just Brother Li and the student I tutor this morning. They don’t need money, and they…”

“Xu Zhiqiao,” Zhou Cong’s voice was calm but cold. “Don’t blindly trust anyone until you know for sure.”

Her feverish brain started to cool. She swallowed hard. “It absolutely wasn’t them.”

“…”

“It must’ve been me. I must’ve lost it somehow,” Xu Zhiqiao looked down and pulled her hand free, picking up the scattered items and shoving them back into her dusty, dirt-streaked bag one by one. “Don’t just go around suspecting my friends…”

Zhou Cong frowned. “I wasn’t accusing them. I’m just eliminating possibilities.”

Xu Zhiqiao’s clear eyes didn’t waver. “Start suspecting, and you’ve already condemned them. If I mentally run through their names like that, what’s the difference between that and treating them like thieves?”

“…Are you calling me out?”

Zhou Cong’s heart twinged.

He wasn’t someone who trusted easily. Trust was never given freely, not to anyone.

But that was the way of the world in his circles—every person could be a rival, an enemy.

The bottom line of the Zhou Family’s future heir could never be exposed.

Xu Zhiqiao lowered her head. The last thing she picked up was a tangled pair of earphones. As she clutched them, her tears began to fall, one drop after another hitting the dusty ground.

“Ten thousand yuan… I’ve only earned six hundred so far… and I lost ten thousand just like that… sob sob…”

“…It’s not that big a deal,” Zhou Cong’s brows twitched, “I’ll make it up to you, double—no, a hundred times over. Deal?”

Xu Zhiqiao looked up, tears clinging to her lashes like they were about to fall. “You’re going to give me a million?”

Zhou Cong’s fingers twitched with the urge to wipe that tear away. “It’s not a big deal. That’s just one night’s bar tab for your Big Brother.”

“….” Xu Zhiqiao paused for half a second, then burst into even louder sobs. “The rich feast behind closed doors while the poor freeze on the street… I lost my money and you’re flexing?”

Zhou Cong: “…”

Her tears soaked the dusty earth, leaving dark, damp marks. Zhou Cong was torn between frustration and amusement. He crouched in front of her, voice low. “Ancestor, my little ancestor, how about we eat first, and I’ll help you look for it, alright?”

Xu Zhiqiao sniffled. “You got any ideas?”

“You’re sure you put it in your bag, and that no one at the shop took it,” Zhou Cong said patiently. “Then maybe it was stolen on the bus. Right?”

“…”

“I’ll help you get the bus surveillance footage. But let’s eat first, okay?”

Xu Zhiqiao thought his reasoning made a lot of sense.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “Okay.”

Her eyes were red, the whites and irises shining wetly. Her cheeks and nose looked like she’d just put on soft blush—pink and fair. And for once, she actually agreed with him, obedient and sweet.

Zhou Cong’s heart turned to mush. He reached out with a knuckle and brushed away the dampness from her eye.

“What’s the big deal? This isn’t even as important as Little Baobao eating on time. Doesn’t your Big Brother know how to make transfers…”

Xu Zhiqiao slapped his hand away. “Don’t talk about him.”

“….” Zhou Cong licked his lips in annoyance. “So you planning to live in this alley now?”

Xu Zhiqiao sniffled, stood up, and picked up her bag.

Zhou Cong clicked his tongue again in distaste and yanked the bag from her hand.

The backpack rolled once on the ground, getting covered in dust.

He brushed it off with his hand, sending puffs of gray into the air. The decrepit back alley seemed even older under the floating dust.

He lowered his eyes, looking at his now-dusty shoes and pants, his sand-coated hand.

Sigh.

Whatever.

So much for cleanliness.

Nothing’s messier than this girl.