Miao Jia anxiously asked, “Sister, have you seen a handbag? It’s about this big?”

“I haven’t,” Lin Ning replied warily, stepping aside as she tried to leave.

Miao Jia grabbed her arm. “Sister, my bag has something really important in it. Could you help me look for it?”

Her face was full of earnestness, on the verge of tears, as she tightly clung to Lin Ning’s bag, refusing to let her go.

“Let go!”

“Sister, please, just help me look…”

Not letting go? Fine. Lin Ning kicked her sharply in the shin. Miao Jia yelped in pain and loosened her grip.

“What are you doing!” Miao Jia shouted, glaring at Lin Ning.

“I should ask you that! Help! Thief! Kidnapper!” Lin Ning yelled at the top of her lungs.

Panicking, Miao Jia reached out to cover Lin Ning’s mouth. “Don’t scream! I’m not a kidnapper!”

At that moment, a middle-aged man ran over from a distance and approached Lin Ning.

“Who’s robbing you?” the man asked.

Lin Ning pointed at Miao Jia. “Her!”

“I’m really not a thief,” Miao Jia explained hastily. “I just lost my bag and wanted her to help me look for it.”

The man said, “Miss, why don’t you open your bag and see if anything is missing inside?”

He and Miao Jia flanked Lin Ning, effectively blocking her view and trapping her in the middle.

Lin Ning sneered. “This is my bag. Why should I open it for you? Get lost!”

“Hey, miss, what’s with that attitude? I think you’re the suspicious one here,” the man retorted, lunging forward to snatch Lin Ning’s bag.

Lin Ning smirked coldly and kicked him hard in the groin. The man yelped in pain and clutched his lower body, hopping around in agony.

At that moment, a crowd began to gather.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

Seeing more people arriving, Miao Jia quickly tried to de-escalate. “Nothing, nothing-it’s just a misunderstanding.”

Abandoning her search for the bag, she slipped through the crowd and hurried off. The man, despite his pain, also stumbled away quickly.

Lin Ning returned home. As soon as she entered, she sniffed the air and frowned. Something was off.

Someone had been here!

Ever since working as a bathhouse attendant, Lin Ning had developed a keen sensitivity to people’s scents.

Young people smelled fresh, while older individuals had a murkier odor. With infrequent bathing common in this era, everyone carried a distinctive scent.

Upon entering her house, Lin Ning detected a muddled scent mixed with faint traces of cigarette smoke. A man had been here.

The bedding had been disturbed, the cabinets opened, and the dirt on the floor swept clean to erase footprints.

Recalling the conversations she’d overheard via the bug, Lin Ning surmised that Morita had sent Ma Wenbiao to stall her. The intruder must have been here searching for something.

What were they looking for? Lin Ning kept her valuables in her spatial dimension; nothing of value was left outside. Were they after the commissions she earned from selling bath towels? But if Morita could manipulate Ma Wenbiao, he surely wouldn’t care about a few thousand yuan.

Thinking it through, Lin Ning realized the most valuable thing she had was the Ruyi Space. Since Morita had been asking people to search for Ruyi-style jewelry, it was highly likely they were after her Ruyi bracelet.

But only Jiang Chacha knew about the bracelet. Could she have leaked the information?

More and more people seemed to be getting involved. Lin Ning decided it was time to deal with Ma Wenbiao. She turned on the bug again to listen in on his movements.

Meanwhile, Miao Jia and a man slipped away, taking several detours to ensure they weren’t being followed. Satisfied that Lin Ning wasn’t pursuing them, they ducked into a guesthouse and entered a room on the second floor.

Inside sat Morita.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“Mr. Morita, she’s very cautious. We couldn’t get her to open the bag,” Miao Jia replied.

“And she’s strong, too,” the man added. “We heard she even beat her brother so badly he ended up in the hospital.”

Morita nodded thoughtfully. “A young woman who can earn such a large sum in a short time and live alone must have some extraordinary capabilities.”

It turned out Miao Jia was one of Morita’s people. Following his orders, they had been testing Lin Ning.

“What should we do next, Mr. Morita?” Miao Jia asked.

“We’re done with Lin Ning for now. I’ve gathered enough information on her. Now, I want you to set a trap for Ma Wenbiao. I’m tired of that fool. Ever since he came to Dong’an County, he’s ignored our tasks and focused solely on lining his own pockets.”

“Understood, Mr. Morita. What’s the goal this time?”

“Ma Wenbiao mentioned that the bath scrubbers have made the garment factory quite a profit. Your first task is to make him hand over the manufacturing process without getting a single penny in return.

“Secondly, make him return every cent he’s stolen from the garment factory.”

“Mr. Morita, the first task might be manageable, but the second will be tough. Ma Wenbiao is greedy; if we take his money, he might retaliate.”

Morita sneered. “You underestimate him. He wouldn’t dare. Even if the fish rots, it won’t tear the net. Just lure him into a trap and bring him to me.”

Miao Jia and the man nodded and left.

An hour later, Miao Jia arrived at the garment factory.

“Director Ma, I brought some fine liquor from my hometown. Let’s share a drink,” she said, her voice syrupy and sweet- completely different from her tone earlier that day when she confronted Lin Ning.

Ma Wenbiao, still upset about losing over ten thousand yuan to Lin Ning, immediately perked up. “Sure! Where do you want to go? My treat.”

“How about the Guomin Hotel? I’ve heard their Dong’an chicken and blood duck are excellent.”

“Sounds good, let’s go.”

Without hesitation, Ma Wenbiao called his trusted accountant, Li, to join them. The three left the factory and headed for the Guomin Hotel.

Listening via the bug, Lin Ning pieced together the pattern.

Miao Jia had first appeared in Ma Wenbiao’s office, claiming to want to buy bath scrubbers. She had then tried to search Lin Ning’s bag and possibly her home. Now, she was luring Ma Wenbiao out again.

Miao Jia was clearly working for Morita, who was also connected to Xu Guangyin. Their goals weren’t limited to stealing the bath scrubber manufacturing process-they were also after Lin Ning’s Ruyi bracelet.

Whatever Miao Jia was planning at the Guomin Hotel, Lin Ning needed to find out.

Changing into a fresh set of clothes, Lin Ning headed to the hotel.

Upon arrival, she scanned the lobby but didn’t see Ma Wenbiao or Miao Jia.

A waiter descended the stairs just then.

“Excuse me, are there seats upstairs?” Lin Ning asked.

“Only private rooms upstairs,” the waiter replied.

If they weren’t in the lobby, they were likely in a private room.

Thanking the waiter, Lin Ning slipped upstairs.

Sure enough, in the room diagonally across from the staircase, she spotted Ma Wenbiao, Miao Jia, and Li.

The adjacent room was unoccupied. Lin Ning quietly entered, locked the door, and positioned herself by a small window on the wall-perfect for eavesdropping.