Chapter 3

Jiang Henian clutched her bag tightly in both hands, cheeks puffed in frustration, lips pressed into a thin line.

She took a deep breath, bent at a 90-degree angle, and said crisply and respectfully:

“Good morning, Master He!”

Her voice was sweet and clear. Even with the faint trembling and clenched teeth, it sounded oddly refreshing.

He Jinshan, who’d been tormented by his dumb dog for three days straight, felt his sour mood ease ever so slightly.

With a casual tug of the black leash looped around his hand, the Doberman, who’d just been ferociously chewing at the iron gate, immediately froze like someone had pressed pause.

It released its bite, stepped back, and sat neatly on command.

So well-trained, it looked like a completely different dog compared to the one that had just tried to maul Jiang Henian.

Her smile stiffened even more.

Under the man’s calm and silent stare, she awkwardly shuffled to the gate, matching arms and legs, and begrudgingly opened it.

“Weren’t you saying it was next mon—”

“Where’d you buy the buns?”

They spoke at the same time.

…

Jiang Henian blinked.

She looked up at the tall, ridiculously cool-looking man with a buzz cut, then down at the big black dog drooling like mad at her feet.

So this guy… came to her house first thing in the morning with a dog to scare the life out of her—just for that meat bun from the other day?!!

Seriously?! Is your household so short on buns you’ve gotta come terrorizing people for one?!

Imported dog food not good enough for you? You came here to experience peasantry, huh?!

Fuming internally.

Honestly, she wasn’t even surprised he’d tracked her down. He was clearly a mafia boss or something.

Sunglasses rested on his high, straight nose; his chin was rough with fresh stubble.

Everything about him looked rugged and careless—what a waste of that ridiculously handsome, Hollywood heartthrob-worthy face.

Even though his clothes looked simple, they were clearly expensive. His black T-shirt hugged defined muscles—he was built.

Those arms could probably smash her head like a watermelon with one punch.

Jiang Henian quickly averted her eyes from unconsciously staring and shivered a little.

Clutching her bag tightly, she lowered her gaze and tried to sound polite:

“That bun shop is at West City Market, from the entrance you just—”

“Lead the way.”

The man tugged his excited dog and turned to leave.

“I-I can just give you the address. It’s really easy to find. I don’t ne—”

Before she could finish, he pulled off his sunglasses and shot her a cold look from above.

That was enough to shut her up.

Trailing three large steps behind man and dog, she mumbled with visible hesitation:

“But… I have work. If I’m late, they’ll dock my pay, and I—”

“I’ll give you a thousand.”

He Jinshan was clearly exhausted and not in the mood to argue. He said it flatly and kept walking.

A thousand yuan just to show the way?!

This thug… actually had a decent side?

Jiang Henian immediately perked up and scurried after him, her tone suddenly full of sincerity:

“Master He, Master He, you’re going the wrong way—it’s to the right~”

Her voice? Full of cheerful submission.

He Jinshan paused mid-step.

He yanked back De Wang, who was gleefully bounding left, and turned to glance at the girl, now wearing a faint smile. His dark eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Waste my time again, and I’ll make you into meat bun filling for De Wang.”

With his rough edges and sharp features, his serious tone made him look like a straight-up demon king.

Jiang Henian instantly recalled her nightmares of severed limbs. The smile vanished from her face. She went pale.

This man is just—

Too terrifying!!!

Crammed in the backseat of his Range Rover next to the beast, Jiang Henian clung to the car door like her life depended on it. She looked like she wished she could phase through the window.

She’d been bitten on the thigh by a neighbor’s dog as a child—left a scar and a massive fear of dogs.

Now she was stuck next to a Doberman that took up most of the seat, its sleek black coat gleaming, muscular and imposing just like its owner.

If she saw it online, she’d have definitely commented: “Dog bro is fire!”

But sitting half an arm’s length away, with two dark eyes locked on her and saliva dripping like a waterfall—

It looked like it wanted to eat her alive.

Every time the dog moved a leg, she flinched like she’d been electrocuted.

Why the hell was West City Market so far?! Earning this thousand bucks was hell!

I’m so miserable—!!

Jiang Henian pressed her tearful face against the window, internally wailing.

She didn’t notice the fleetingly amused expression in the rearview mirror.

…

Temporarily hired as a “bun-runner,” Jiang Henian returned with three full bags of buns, legs wobbling under the Doberman’s hungry gaze.

Afraid of being tackled, she bravely leaned in, cracked open the passenger door, and placed the heavy bags onto the seat.

“…I gave the shop your address and number. They’ll deliver in the future.”

Please, please don’t come looking for me again.

Standing by the passenger door, she looked up at the man in the driver’s seat.

Her “life money” hadn’t been paid yet.

Her courage had been tested so much lately it was almost immune. Clutching her hands together, she looked up like a pitiful little money gremlin:

“Um… the thousand yuan…?”

The man held an unlit cigarette between his lips and glanced sideways at her.

Dark, unreadable eyes beneath strong brows.

You seriously dare to ask?

A whiny little “never mind, forget it” spun around in Jiang Henian’s throat a hundred times—but somehow, she didn’t say it.

Boohoo… just because he’s mafia, he gets to cheat people?!

After a long pause, the man grabbed his phone from the console, tapped something, and turned it toward her.

A WeChat QR code.

Jiang Henian frowned slightly. Can’t he just use Alipay? Bank transfer?

Adding him on WeChat meant he could find her anytime… for debt collecting!

Sure, he didn’t look like he needed her to repay anything—probably some filthy rich underworld boss—but he was way too dangerous.

She’d already started plotting her escape, and now she was being lured straight into the tiger’s den.

“Don’t want to?”

His rough voice dropped several degrees.

Jiang Henian shot into action like a wind-up doll. Phone out. Unlock. Scan.

“Added! Added!”

Cowardice is a virtue.

For survival? Dignity can wait.

She silently comforted herself: A thousand bucks. A thousand bucks…

“Ding—”

WeChat: Payment received, ¥1,500.

Five hundred extra?!

Jiang Henian looked up, surprised. “…You overpaid.”

“Bun money.”

He casually tossed the phone back on the console. “Get in.”

Jiang Henian, lightning-fast, shut the door like escaping a plague. “No need, no need! I’ll go on my own—”

Before she could finish, the man put on his sunglasses, floored the gas, and sped off, leaving her coughing in a cloud of exhaust.

Jiang Henian: “…”

This man had zero patience. Never let her finish a single sentence.

Terrifying gangster!

She grumbled under her breath, but one look at her phone screen and her heart bloomed with joy.

A simple detour = 1,200 yuan profit.

Once her pay from the milk tea shop, western restaurant, and night shift came in, she’d have about 7,000 in total.

Sure, she’d broken dishes and messed up some orders—got fined 520 yuan for that.

But even with deductions, in half a month she’d have…

9,748.48 yuan!

Yesss! Her escape fund was about to break 10k!

Jiang Henian purposefully ignored the creepy number’s ominous homophone and hopped on a newly mastered shared bike, wobbling off toward the western restaurant.

“Skreee—!”

The bike screeched to a stop.

Jiang Henian blinked in shock, rubbed her eyes hard.

What the hell?!

In broad daylight, she saw a hallucination.

Right in front of her was the wild mountain from her dream—the one where someone tried to rob her for weeds and nearly assaulted her. During the struggle, she grabbed a rusty sickle and sliced his throat, blood spraying all over her face.

Then she collapsed on the mountain too, clothes in tatters, skinny as a twig. Not sure if she died or just passed out.

Frozen in place, she rubbed her face in a daze.

Clean.

But her heart was racing like it might crash.

She got off the bike and hurriedly turned around, pedaling in the opposite direction with all her might.

Forget work—

Time to survive!!