Chapter Twenty-five

The call was from Xu He. It turned out that since Ganxin had been downstairs for so long without coming back up, Xu He had urged him to come down and play a game. Naturally, the game was billiards. The first floor had two billiards tables set up in the lobby, and these young, wealthy individuals would occasionally play a round when they were bored.

After figuring out the secret of the walnut, this group of people couldn't sit still and decided to play billiards and place bets. Of course, the stakes weren't money, because among the people present, few lacked money. Otherwise, they wouldn't be wasting their time on such trivial things. Only a spoiled rich kid would get into this kind of nonsense.

The things they bet on were often about people or events, but they were all absurd and twisted. For example, last time, a young man named Zhang Feng had bet with someone that he would jump from a height of two hundred meters—what people commonly call bungee jumping. Of course, if it was just simple bungee jumping, that might have been too boring. These people didn't just settle for that. The problem was, they made Zhang Feng fill his body with water balloons before the jump. Now, given the speed of descent in a bungee jump, the balloons would be squeezed and explode during the fall. Zhang Feng had quite the experience, and only he knew the pain. When he came back up, his legs were shaking—not from weakness, but from pain. It's said that for over a month, he didn't touch a woman…

Then there was another young man named Wei Cheng, who lost a bet and had to cross the river naked at three in the morning. It was winter, and while there was no snow in Huaijiang, the cold was unbearable. The young man swam across the river, and the water temperature was bone-chilling. When he finally emerged, he was nearly frozen to death and almost had to be sent to the hospital. But he still gritted his teeth and pushed through it.

You could say these rich brats were reckless, but none of them were afraid to play these absurd games, otherwise, they wouldn't be shouting about it. Compared to what had happened before, these things were just small matters—there were worse incidents, but those weren't discussed publicly.

Right now, Xu Jin had just finished a round and was sitting on the couch resting. The stakes for this game were quite harsh—whoever lost would have to wear "chastity pants" for a month. Ahem, yes, they were for men. As for the key, it was typically kept in the "Gulin" safe, and after a month, it would be unlocked.

After hanging up with Xu He, Ganxin noticed that Fang Cheng and Zhang Tingting had already left the garden. They were walking at a distance of about three meters apart, one in front of the other. It seemed that the man had truly made up his mind. Even if the woman tried to salvage things, it was probably in vain. When a man has lost interest in you, no matter how beautiful you are, you can't fit into his eyes anymore.

When he turned around, he found the woman behind him lazily leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, biting her thumb nail in apparent distress. This was a habit of Su Xiaobai's; whenever she was troubled, she liked to bite her fingers. It made her seem a little childish, as if she still held some innocence. But Ganxin knew very well that this woman was definitely not innocent. When she looked up, her eyes carried a mix of slyness and wariness. This woman was definitely calculating; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so quick to return her phone earlier and then hid behind him.

Su Xiaobai glanced at him from behind and, frowning, asked, "Is he still downstairs?" Her tone was slightly impatient, as though Fang Cheng had done something to annoy her. She didn't even want to mention his name.

Ganxin observed her without changing his expression and patiently answered, "He's gone."

Su Xiaobai let out a long sigh, and when she looked at Ganxin, her eyes were much clearer. She then heard the boy in front of her ask, "What are you going to do about the photo on this phone?" He even shook the phone, as if seeking her opinion.

"Forget it. Just delete it. The photo's useless now, no need for it. Thank you for helping me earlier, little brother." She waved her hand casually, as if the person who had asked for help had now turned into the one who had done her a favor.

Ganxin wasn't annoyed by her attitude. On the contrary, he found it even more interesting and asked, "Is the man downstairs your husband?" He was just asking out of curiosity. He had never seen Su Miaomiao, her older sister, but he had heard she was very beautiful, and this woman's looks seemed to match the description of Su Xiaobai he had heard.

However, this question seemed to strike a nerve with Su Xiaobai. She showed no effort to hide her disgust for Fang Cheng, saying, "Who's his wife? His wife's already been driven to death by him. That woman was just a fool—an absolute fool, a big idiot."

Although her attitude might have been feigned, the genuine anger in her eyes was clear. Ganxin was surprised by his own willingness to believe her, but he still thought that, even if she wasn't Fang Cheng's wife, she was still closely connected to him.

In the end, three words: complicated!

Ganxin then heard her ask, "Little brother, can I ask you something? What place is this? Is Mr. Chen from Jincheng downstairs?" It seemed like she was trying to probe for information. Although she had initially doubted that Jincheng could afford to buy the place, that didn't rule out the possibility that the sleazy Mr. Chen was downstairs.

Ganxin found her question amusing. It seemed this woman was trying to get information through indirect means. Although he was tempted to tease her, he decided to set that aside for now. "This is Gulin, outside the Fourth Ring Road. It's about an hour's drive from the city center. As for Mr. Chen from Jincheng, I don't know him. As far as I know, there's no such person here." He added, "People who can enter here all have some background or status. That Jincheng company you mentioned is just a small business in Huaijiang, nothing worth paying attention to."

The only one who was taken aback was Su Xiaobai. Outside the Fourth Ring Road? Suburbs? Oh my god, if it wasn't someone from Jincheng, then who brought her here?

But Su Xiaobai felt a little more at ease. As long as it wasn't someone from Jincheng, it was fine.

"By the way, little brother, could you lend me your phone again? I need to make a call," Su Xiaobai said, giving a somewhat embarrassed smile, likely feeling she was troubling the boy too much.

Ganxin didn't refuse. He watched her take the phone from him, thank him, and then dialed a number.

"Xiaoyu? Are you at the office? Yeah, it's me. I'm in Huaijiang now. Can you help me find the number for Li Xiangcheng from the Engineering Department of the Huaijiang Branch? Something's come up, and I need it quickly. Please check it and send it to this number as soon as you can."

Su Xiaobai called the headquarters and asked a colleague from the secretarial department to find the phone number for the person who had previously discussed business with her. After all, the only numbers she remembered were for her family and Su Miao. There was no way she would call home and worry her father, and contacting Su Miao wasn't ideal either since she was currently in another province, far from any help. She figured it was best to first get the contact information for someone from the branch, at least to check in and ensure no one else would be dragged into this because of her.

Meanwhile, Li Xiangcheng had been a bundle of nerves all night because of her situation. First, the branch leadership had been pressing him for details, and he spent the night in the police station giving statements. As soon as he got out of the station, a few men came to question him. They looked unfamiliar, but their bearing and attire made it clear they were not ordinary people. Li Xiangcheng became even more worried about Su Xiaobai. After all, she was taken right under his nose, and he felt deeply guilty. Fortunately, he received a call from Su Xiaobai telling him she was fine and would be back in the afternoon. However, it was clear she wasn't even sure where she was, and before he could ask more, she hung up. Li Xiangcheng, relieved but still shaken, almost knelt down and thanked the heavens that Su Director was safe.

When Su Xiaobai reached the lobby on the first floor, she was surprised to see it bustling with activity. The place was full of antiques! She wasn't unfamiliar with such things, as her home had a room full of Su Miao's collection. Her brother liked to tinker with antiques in his spare time. Of course, it wasn't because he was cultivating an interest in the arts—he was just doing it for fun.

This group of young men, seemingly aimless, were playing pool. Xu He, with sharp eyes, immediately spotted her. Holding a pool cue in his hand, he quickly approached with a smile, "Hey, do you know how to play? Want to have a game?"

Su Xiaobai smiled at him, though in her mind, she was wondering why all the boys here seemed so familiar with her. Still, she gently shook her head. "I don't know how. This looks pretty hard."

At that moment, Ganxin walked over to her and, smiling, said, "Actually, it's not that hard. If you get a few key points down, it's easy to pick up. Want to give it a try? I can teach you."

Xu He, caught up in the excitement, didn't question how Ganxin and Su Xiaobai ended up together. He eagerly pressed, "It's no big deal if you lose, we're just having fun."

The others, who were in the middle of their own game, all turned to look at her. Their eyes lit up—she was a charming and pretty woman, and the carefree aura about her made her even more attractive to this group of young men. Unconsciously, Su Xiaobai became the center of attention.

"Alright, I'll play a round, but don't blame me if I win," Su Xiaobai said with a smile, gracefully taking the cue and heading toward the pool table.

Sometimes, life just works in strange ways. Just a moment ago, she had been trying to find evidence of Fang Cheng's wrongdoings, but now the situation had completely shifted, and she had ended up in the middle of a misunderstanding.

Indeed, Fang Cheng, who had originally planned to leave, was stopped by a phone call from Chen Xingran, asking him to return to Gulin to pick up some items. As a result, he and Gong Zheng, who had come to pick up Zhang Tingting, unexpectedly met in the lobby.

Husband, husband's lover, and husband's lover's lover, all colliding in the same place.

At the same time, Su Xiaobai, surrounded by a crowd of young men, was completely unaware that she was about to become the center of this swirling drama.