Finally, the door opened, and Yan Di walked in carrying my two precious boxes. She looked a little out of breath. It seems this honest girl was afraid I would be anxious, so she ran quite fast the whole way.
I took the box, opened it, and immediately my heart sank!
My diamond brooch is gone!
When the other box was opened, my blood froze on the spot!
The ring is gone too!
Yan Di saw that I looked frightened and didn't know what had happened. She seemed to want to say something, but didn't know where to start.
"Yan Di." I took a deep breath. "Who gave you this box last night?"
“It was given to me by the people at the hospital. When you were brought to the hospital, they gave me your belongings.”
My face darkened.
The two boxes are somewhat deformed, probably from being dropped last night, but they aren't broken, ruling out the possibility that the contents fell out! The only possibility is that someone stole the contents!
I suddenly have a strong urge to kill someone!
I put in so much effort and risked everything to lure that bastard Zhou Jing into my trap. I even went against my conscience and used Fang Nan as bait. In the end, I succeeded with great difficulty... but some bastard stole it from me!
My face had gone from pale to flushed, and my eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Just then, the little money-grubber came running back. As soon as she entered, she grabbed a cup, panting, and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. Then she patted her chest and said, "I'm exhausted! Chen Yang, I've done what you asked me to do!"
"Oh? You found out?"
"Hmm!" The little money-grubber's eyes showed a hint of doubt: "You asked me to go to the property management company to ask about that nouveau riche who won the lottery today... I got the information! Damn! This is really difficult! After that guy won the lottery today, I went to inquire about him at this time, and everyone there thought I had ulterior motives! Some people even thought I was a lovesick girl trying to hook up with a rich guy!"
Seeing my unfriendly expression, Amei didn't dare to beat around the bush anymore and quickly gave me the answer I wanted: "Chen Yang, how did you guess? That nouveau riche wasn't fired after all! After your accident last night, he went to resign this morning as soon as he got to work! I heard that their property management company didn't actually plan to fire him; he went to the company early this morning and asked to resign! Their boss even tried to persuade him to stay for a while, comforting him that he wouldn't be held responsible for the accident, but this guy seemed to be acting stupid and insisted on leaving. Then, while waiting for the company to process his paperwork, he seemed quite anxious. Then, while flipping through the newspaper, he suddenly discovered that he had won the lottery today."
I sighed, my face growing increasingly grim.
It seems that's indeed the case!
I was already suspicious when Ah Mei told me that our building's elevator operator had suddenly won such a big prize. Then, unfortunately, I heard that he resigned today... I immediately felt uneasy!
Sure enough, I've discovered that both of my treasures in the box are gone!
Then it's not hard to guess what happened!
Last night, after I fell, the elevator operator of this building must have been involved in the rescue! There were security guards, firefighters, elevator operators, and so many people. Most likely, this guy picked up my two boxes in the chaos... It's most likely that he opened them by accident... and then got greedy!
At first, I might have believed he found it by accident... but the box wasn't broken, so someone must have opened it and taken it! It couldn't have been found! And even if he did find it... it seems this guy intends to keep it all for himself!
More importantly, he went to the company to resign early in the morning, which was a deliberate attempt to take away my things!
You bastard! You bastard!
I jumped out of bed!
Damn, do you think it's so easy to steal my fifth brother's things?
I outwardly tried to cover it up. Although A-Mei's instructions were a bit strange, I quickly made up two excuses to get rid of him. Yan Di, however, wasn't so easily fooled.
I've gradually figured out this girl's temperament. She seems the most gentle, but she's actually quite smart. She understands many things very well, but she just doesn't say it.
After A-Mei left the room to get my medicine, Yan Di whispered, "Brother Xiao Wu, is it... that you lost something?"
My mind was a bit of a mess, so I just mumbled an "uh-huh." Yan Di then asked, "You...you don't think the elevator manager from the property management company stole it, do you? What is it? Is it something valuable?"
"Hmm..." I nodded.
"Let's go find him!" Yan Di jumped to her feet, indignantly saying, "How could he steal your things? You were injured, and he claimed he took advantage of the chaos to steal! How could there be such a person?!"
I shook my head: "Forget it, how are you going to find him? Call the police? What evidence do we have?"
cut!
I comforted Yan Di a couple of times, saying that losing something wasn't a big deal. Then I made an excuse to send Yan Di out of the room, and while I was alone, I made a phone call to an old friend.
To be honest, my previous job at nightclubs was a sort of shady business. Of course, I knew quite a few guys involved in the underworld. Some of them I even had pretty good relationships with.
I called a guy who specializes in voyeurism and stalking.
This person is actually a so-called private investigator… but in our country, the private investigation industry is illegal; they don't have operating licenses. Therefore, this industry has always operated underground, afraid to be exposed. This situation has prevented the development of the private investigation industry in our country. The guy I know just takes on small jobs like secretly following and filming people. For example, if a housewife suspects her husband of having an affair, or a husband suspects his wife of cheating, he'll take on these kinds of jobs, carrying a secondhand Seagull camera, going from street to street to follow and film.
As for how I met this guy?
It's kind of funny. Once, this guy was hired by a resentful woman to secretly film evidence of her rich husband's philandering and infidelity, so that she could get a bigger share of the assets during the divorce proceedings.
The philandering husband was a regular at the nightclub. One night, this private investigator followed us into the nightclub, sneaking around trying to take photos outside the private rooms…
My waiter found out. He then took me directly to my lounge and gave me a beating.
At the time, we all thought it was probably a reporter from some media outlet trying to expose something. I was wondering who this person was, so bold as to come to Huan Ge's place to expose something? Which newspaper would dare to cover Huan Ge's business?
Only after asking did I find out that he was a private investigator!
I didn't think he was some kind of troublemaking reporter, so I didn't make things difficult for him and just ordered him to leave. That saved him from some physical pain.
To our surprise, this guy was incredibly persistent and had a strong work ethic! After we kicked him out, he spent several hours hiding in the parking lot, lurking in a corner to secretly take photos.
That night, I unintentionally saw him while dropping a client off at the parking lot, and on a whim, I pulled him over. I was furious and ready to beat him up and teach him a lesson. First, if he wanted to take pictures, he would definitely take pictures of the girls in our establishment! That's unacceptable! Who knows what kind of trouble that would cause? Second, it wouldn't be good for a client to come here; if something like this happened, it wouldn't be good!
Just before I could make a move, this guy wasn't flustered at all. He just held his camera and shouted, "Wait!" Then, incredibly, he calmly told me that he had something to say and asked if I could let him finish speaking if I wanted to hit him...
Next, he gave me a theory, which actually convinced me, and I let him off the hook again...
"Most men who cheat on their wives do so secretly, without daring to do too much. Think about it, if I give the evidence to his wife, and she divorces him, this guy will be unrestrained and will have a blast! Then you can make a fortune by opening your own establishment!"
To be honest, what this guy was saying was pretty damn wicked. Although I didn't agree with him, I also thought he was pretty good at bluffing, so I kicked him out. I warned him not to hang around our place, and I didn't care about anything else.
However, I did hear afterwards that the wealthy customer had gotten divorced, and before he would only sneak into our place twice a month, after the divorce he would come four or five times a week! He was throwing money into the nightclub... That's when I remembered that sleazy private investigator.
I ran into him again at a bar later and learned that his original job was as a tabloid reporter, but he didn't do well in that field and simply switched to being a private investigator.
I've talked to him twice, and we've become kind of friends. This guy is very responsible and ethical in his profession. Once he takes a client's money, he'll complete the task with great enthusiasm... In that respect, he's a pretty good person.
As for how many such cases he's handled... and how many families he's caused to break up... in his words: "It's not my fault. They had their own problems to begin with. It's not like I cheated on them or had a mistress. I just exposed the problems. If they didn't have their own problems, why would they get divorced?"
I admire him quite a bit... because although he's a bit sleazy, he's very principled and takes his work very seriously.
I immediately thought of this guy, picked up my phone and dialed his number: "Hello, this is Chen Yang, Xiao Wu."
A lewd voice came from the other end of the phone. The person's voice was like a mouse hiding in a corner, sneaking around: "Brother Wu, what's up? Is it to take pictures secretly, or to follow me?"
I thought for a moment and said, "I do have business to offer you, but you must keep it a secret and not let anyone else know!"
"Don't worry! It's guaranteed!" The lewd detective chuckled maliciously. "So, what is it?"
"You know XX residential complex, right? There's an elevator operator named XXX in the property management company there. I need his address and phone number. He resigned today. I just need you to find his address so I can find him anytime."
On the other end of the phone, the sleazy detective took a note of it, then repeated it to me without error, saying casually, "This job is simple, three hundred yuan. And you want me to follow him? Two hundred yuan a day."
"Okay! Also, you can't alert him! You can't let him notice! And you're not allowed to get close to him."
The lewd detective laughed and said, "Brother Wu, you know my principles. My reputation is my guarantee!"
After hanging up the phone, I felt a little relieved.
This guy may be a bit sleazy, but he's incredibly dedicated to his work, and I'm sure he'll do his best to make the business a success. I believe that.
My plan is simple: first, I need to find that bastard's address... then, after I'm discharged from the hospital, I'll personally go there and teach that bastard a lesson! How dare he steal my treasure while I was in an accident!
I can't ask anyone else to do these things; Amei and Yandi certainly can't. Two girls wouldn't be good at this kind of thing either. And it's even less likely they'd brazenly go to the property management company to check that guy's information.
Now I can only wait patiently. I have to catch that guy and not let him get away.
Of course, I could call a few "brothers" in the underworld right now to take care of that bastard... but I don't dare to do that!
Why?
These days, do gangsters have any credibility? Ask them to help me get my ring back? Please! It's worth millions; if they steal it, how am I supposed to get it back?
Even though I have some friends in the underworld, and our relationship is reasonably good... these days, it's millions! You can't judge a book by its cover!
After hanging up the phone, I felt down all day. Yan Di and A Mei noticed my low spirits, but the two girls were helpless to help.
That sleazy detective was incredibly efficient! He called me that evening: "Brother Wu, I found the address. He lives at No. XX, XX Community, XX Road... But, it seems he's already moving today. He'll probably move tomorrow. Do you want me to keep following him tomorrow?"
"Yes!" I gritted my teeth. "Keep a close eye on them!"
The next day, messages continued to pour in.
"He moved to a very expensive neighborhood. This afternoon he went to the mall and bought a set of imported furniture, as well as a lot of high-end home appliances."
"He had a big lunch at the Hilton Hotel and gave the waiter a hundred-dollar tip when he left..."
The phone call that evening was even stranger. The lecherous detective seemed hesitant to speak, as if suppressing a laugh: "Fifth Brother... guess where he went tonight?"
"Um?"
"He went to the Golden Splendor nightclub... and hired two prostitutes. That night, he took them out to a room at the Hilton Hotel..."
Holy crap!
I really want to strangle that bastard!
He's using my ring to enjoy himself everywhere! What a bastard!
On the third day, I suddenly received a call early in the morning from the sleazy detective. His tone was unfriendly, and he seemed a little angry: "Fifth Brother! What do you mean! You know I'm only after money, not lives!"
"Huh? What?" I didn't quite understand what he meant.
The shrunken detective was somewhat dissatisfied: "Fifth Brother, we're friends, and I trust your character, so when you asked me to do something for you, I didn't even ask why before I did it! But you used the information I gave you to kill someone! You know my principles! I only ever take money, never kill!"
I was a bit confused by what he was saying: "I don't understand what you mean."
"You can see for yourself by watching the morning news!" the shrunken detective said coldly. "We're friends, so I'll pretend I don't know anything about this! And don't ask me to do this kind of thing again!"
After saying that, he actually hung up on me!
My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly asked my little money-grubber to turn on the TV in the room. This was indeed a high-ranking official's ward; they even had cable TV. I quickly found the local morning news channel.
"According to our report, a vicious armed robbery and assault occurred early this morning at the entrance of XX residential area. Three knife-wielding assailants attacked a drunk pedestrian, sustaining six stab wounds and stealing all his belongings! The victim has been rushed to the hospital and is now out of danger, but doctors say there is a possibility of permanent disability. Police are currently making every effort to apprehend the robbers, and citizens are advised to be cautious when traveling late at night..."
Holy crap!
Looking at that guy lying in the hospital bed on the TV screen...
That bastard who stole my ring!
Later, a police officer was interviewed by a television reporter and recounted some details of the case. The bastard has now woken up, and he was robbed of approximately 70,000 yuan worth of valuables. And, most pitifully, one of his fingers was chopped off! This was because the criminals were in a hurry to steal a ring from his hand…
ring……