Chapter 5: Unexpected Gains – Dreaming of Her  

The sound of police sirens jolted the chubby and skinny duo awake from their dreams. Seeing a mountain of a man charging toward them, the pair panicked and fled in disarray.  

Qiao Muting kicked the fat man down, his massive belly getting wedged between two steel bars on the ground. The fat man shouted, “Boss, Shuanzi Ge, run! Don’t worry about me!”  

Qiao Muting stepped over his body and lunged forward, grabbing “Shuanzi.” The man turned to fight back but was swiftly flipped over Qiao’s shoulder and slammed to the ground. In an instant, the police swarmed in from outside, surrounding them.  

Amid the chaos, Qian Lai quietly slipped into their hideout and opened a burlap sack on the floor.  

Whoa! Not only were they fugitives, but they were also ruthless thieves who stole cultural relics.  

Just as she reached out to inspect the contents, someone suddenly yelled, “Old Four, run!”  

She looked up to see a shadowy figure darting past.  

Without a second thought, Qian Lai vaulted over the windowsill and chased after the figure. The bloody gash on her foot from stepping on a long nail had barely clotted, but the force of her leap tore it open again. She could clearly feel the blood soaking through her sock.  

Under the moonlight, two limping figures hobbled along, one fleeing, the other in pursuit.  

After winding through two intersections, “Old Four” ran into a scrapyard near the steel mill.  

Qian Lai hid in the shadows, not advancing further.  

Old Four knocked on the door of the scrapyard’s shack.  

“Who is it?”  

“It’s me, Old Four.”  

“Oh, got goods? Leave ’em in the usual spot.”  

Old Four glanced around before dragging his injured leg deeper into the scrapyard.  

Then, the shack door opened.  

Qian Lai gasped—was this something she was allowed to see for free?  

Pang Lao Wang, the scrapyard owner, stood there with a woman in his arms. The woman coquettishly planted a loud kiss on his balding head.  

“This is all our savings. Keep it safe.”  

Pang Lao Wang gazed at the wooden box in the woman’s hands and lovingly kissed her wrinkled face. “I’ll stash it in the cellar. No one will ever find it!”  

Qian Lai sucked in a sharp breath!  

Qin Hongxiang, you’re really something.  

So she had a thing with the neighbor, Lao Wang? But Pang Lao Wang’s face… why did it look familiar?  

“You go put it away. I’ll check on Old Four out back.”  

Qian Lai watched as Qin Hongxiang carried the wooden box into the cellar. Moments later, she swayed her hips back into the shack, closing the door behind her. The sound of opera singing soon drifted from the radio.  

No time to waste.  

Qian Lai dashed into the cellar in three quick strides.  

The long, narrow cellar wasn’t very large. One wall was lined with shelves holding Pang Lao Wang’s collection of bottles and jars, while at the far end of the other wall stood a pickling vat.  

She knew Qin Hongxiang all too well—she always hid things either in jars or behind bricks.  

Sure enough!  

Without breaking a sweat, she found the wooden box inside the pickling vat.  

Opening it, she saw—whoa! Cash, food ration coupons, necklaces, watches…  

She swiftly stored the valuables in her Dimension and returned the box to its original spot.  

But as she turned—wait, what was this?  

Beside the pickling vat lay a triangular raw stone, its surface caked in dry mud. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary rock, but a small exposed corner revealed a dark green, jade-like texture reminiscent of Xiuyan jade.  

It looked exactly like the ceremonial jade artifacts from the Neolithic era unearthed in later generations.

Since childhood, Qian Lai, who had followed her grandfather to various treasure appraisal events in her past life, could almost immediately tell that this was a priceless treasure.  

What an unexpected windfall!  

She stashed the treasure into her Dimension, intending to present it to the state at the earliest opportunity.  

Qian Lai quickly ducked back behind the tree just as Old Four shuffled out behind Pang Lao Wang.  

After a brief exchange, Old Four turned and quickened his pace, darting toward the residential area.  

Not good!  

A sense of foreboding settled in Qian Lai’s heart.  

He was truly cunning! They had already wound through four or five alleys, and it felt like he was leading her in circles.  

Where exactly was he headed?  

Qian Lai was growing impatient—mostly because the wound on her ankle was throbbing more painfully by the minute.  

Her thoughts were racing when she saw Old Four turn into yet another alley up ahead. Before she could follow, a woman’s shrill scream pierced the air: “Ah! Help!”  

She rushed forward and rounded the corner to find Old Four gripping a young girl tightly, a sharp blade pressed against her neck.  

The girl trembled in terror. “D-don’t hurt me. I… I can give you money… Just—just don’t hurt me, please…”  

Old Four ignored her pleas, glaring at Qian Lai instead. “Let me go! Or I’ll kill her.”  

“Ah! No… Big Brother… don’t kill me!” The girl’s voice quivered.  

Qian Lai’s eyes flickered with calculation. “Fourth Brother, don’t be afraid. I’m Shuanzi Ge’s girlfriend. He sent me to find you.”  

“Shuanzi’s girlfriend? You’re not a cop?”  

“Huh? A cop? No, no.” Qian Lai smiled warmly, inching closer to him.  

“Shuanzi Ge was supposed to introduce us today.  

But we waited forever, and you never showed up.  

Then the police came.  

They helped me escape and told me to find you so we could figure out how to save them…”  

With each word, she took another step forward.  

Old Four’s eyes flickered with doubt, and as he wavered, the blade at the girl’s neck loosened slightly.  

“Fourth Brother, I’ve heard so much about you. Look, this is the token Shuanzi Ge gave me.” Qian Lai clenched her left fist, pretending to offer something in her palm.  

Old Four instinctively reached out. Seizing the moment, she swiftly pivoted, slipping past his arm as a stun baton slid from her sleeve into her grip. She drove it straight into Old Four’s neck.  

A crackling burst of electricity later, Old Four collapsed unconscious before he could even struggle.  

The hostage girl, now freed from danger, nearly crumpled to the ground in relief, but Qian Lai caught her.  

“You…?” The girl sobbed, still shaken. “I really thought you were with him… Comrade, what’s your name? I want to write you a commendation letter.”  

Oh no!  

Qian Lai would rather no one knew she had ever been here.  

The news would likely break soon about the nighttime capture of the tomb-raiding gang at the abandoned factory. If Qian Jiangang and Qin Hongxiang found out she had been on the scene, all her plans would be ruined.  

“That’s not important! Go call the police!”  

She told the girl where Old Four had hidden the stolen goods and escorted her to a phone booth at a nearby inn. By the time the girl hung up, Qian Lai had already vanished without a trace.  

Meanwhile, over at the police station, Xiao Duizhang was shaking Qiao Muting’s hand fervently.  

“Comrade Qiao, if you hadn’t been so alert—spotting a wanted criminal just by buying a newspaper—we might not have caught these guys so smoothly. Thank you, thank you!”  

Qiao Muting’s mind was elsewhere. All he wanted was to hurry back and find his “little white rabbit.” A hundred questions swirled in his head.  

What was her name?

Where is she from?  

What is she doing here alone in the dead of night?  

Earlier, she stumbled as she walked—was she injured?  

…  

After searching around, he couldn’t find any trace of her.  

Just now, he should have followed her to give chase. A single moment’s hesitation—could she have come to harm?  

Later, he heard that a girl had called the police, revealing the whereabouts of Old Four, who had slipped through the net, and the stolen goods. He rushed over eagerly, only to find it wasn’t the person he had hoped for.  

Listening to the girl’s account of the whole incident, his heart grew even more unsettled.  

So dangerous! She was truly brave.  

Lifting his hand, he rubbed his nose—the faint scent of gardenias, unique to her, still lingered.  

By the time he returned to his hotel room, it was already past midnight. He took off his shirt, which still carried her faint fragrance. Draping it over his head, he closed his eyes, pretending she was right beside him.  

Greedily, he took a deep breath, his body trembling slightly.  

Damn it! He was seriously sick!  

He cursed himself again.  

But moral boundaries couldn’t restrain his willpower. In his dazed state, she drifted into his dreams.  

In the dream, her soft, boneless form pressed tightly against his firm chest. Her silky hair brushed lightly over the corner of his lips, and her nose occasionally touched his Adam’s apple. Delicate, pale fingers, carrying the scent of gardenias, gently traced his face.  

The girl lifted her gaze inadvertently, as if inviting him.  

Large hands seized her mischievous, soft little hands, pulling her arms behind her back and yanking her close. With her hands pinned behind her, she neither struggled nor tried to escape. Instead, she gazed into his eyes with deep affection, brimming with the same longing he felt.  

Every dead cell in him came alive.  

At this moment, his willpower was making a desperate last stand. Just as he thought to let go, slender arms looped around his neck, and tender, moist lips sealed against his—without waiting for his consent.  

Now, the fine beads of sweat on her skin clung to his. To him, it was no longer poison—it was sweet nectar!  

His throat moved involuntarily in a swallow.  

Only then did he realize—where was his rationality?!  

“Ah!”  

He jolted awake from the dream, only to find the shirt in his arms already crumpled into a ball.  

Damn it! These were the hotel’s sheets!  

Gasping for breath, he didn’t dare close his eyes again.  

Clutching the shirt with its unique scent to his chest, his arms and torso felt an overwhelming satisfaction.  

Ugh, here we go again!…  

Sleep was impossible now. His mind raced with plans: first thing tomorrow, he had to take care of business.