A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 961 Ouyang Bao sets his sights on Gui'er

Gui'er was puzzled as to why Ouyang Bao was now seeking revenge, but he couldn't find her to blame. She smiled warily and said, "I don't know much about business, but maybe we'll make a fortune on the next deal. Detective Ouyang, are you enjoying tonight's dishes? They're all local specialties from my hometown in Jiangcheng."

Ouyang Bao smiled and said, "It's alright, this food is really good. I wish I could come here to eat more often."

Gui'er was taken aback, not understanding what he meant, but she still said politely, "It's nothing. If Detective Ouyang likes it, I'll ask the kitchen to make an extra portion of these dishes and pack them up and send them over to you later so that the ladies can also have a taste."

Ouyang Bao stared at Gui'er with a dazed look in his eyes. His gaze lingered on her face for a while before moving down to her chest. He was very blatant in his gaze, not hiding anything from her. Gui'er felt uncomfortable under his gaze and quickly bent down to pick up her bowl and hold it in front of her chest.

Ah Si quickly picked up his glass and said, "Chief, come on, let me toast you."

Ouyang Bao picked up his wine glass, clinked it with his, and turned back to Gui'er with a smile, saying, "Miss Sha, I'm only giving you face. Normally, a servant like you wouldn't be worthy to sit at the same table with me, let alone drink. But you're different. You have no father or brothers, and it's not easy for you to be here alone. You should hurry up and find a reliable person to marry."

Upon hearing this, Wu Mingqiang's expression changed, but he quickly returned to normal, still smiling. A Si's face turned bright red. Holding the wine glass he had just touched, he was unsure whether to drink or not, awkwardly hanging in mid-air. After two seconds, he tilted his head back and downed the wine in one gulp, then, with a forced smile, poured another glass of wine for Ouyang Bao.

“I, Ouyang Bao, am not the kind of person who lets others take advantage of me. I then had someone investigate that guy and found out that although his family is in business, he himself is a university professor. Miss Sha, you should be quite familiar with him,” Ouyang Bao said sarcastically.

Gui'er suppressed her panic and smiled calmly, saying, "Oh, so you're a professor from our school. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the shop that day and didn't see you. I wonder which professor it is?"

"Xu Jing, he's an active member of the student movement. Although the British government isn't too keen on getting involved, if I wanted to deal with him, it would be as easy as crushing an ant," Ouyang Bao said smugly.

Gui'er couldn't keep up the act any longer; she felt like she was saying all these words to herself.

Ouyang Bao observed Gui'er's expression and noticed a hint of unease on her face. He smiled and said, "Miss, I know this matter has nothing to do with you, but since you met in your pawnshop, it's not like you can completely escape responsibility."

“Oh, that’s truly an undeserved disaster. Our pawnshop is open for business, and any customer, no matter who they are, can enter our shop. How are we supposed to tell if they are good or bad? Detective Ouyang, you have always been discerning and fair. We hope you can help us.” Wu Mingqiang poured Ouyang Bao a glass of wine and said with a fawning smile, “As for the benefits, we won’t treat you unfairly.”

“Hey… Brother Wu, you’re mistaken. If your young lady and I were family, then there wouldn’t be any problems. Haven’t you thought of that? You’re a smart man. Since your young lady trusts you with the management of the shop, I won’t treat you as an outsider.” Ouyang Bao said meaningfully.

"What do you mean?" Wu Mingqiang was stunned.

Gui'er could tell that Ouyang Bao had probably guessed that she was involved in this cotton and cloth business. He was using this to blackmail her into becoming his concubine, but he probably didn't like her; he just wanted to seize her wealth.

“Detective Ouyang, you’re joking. Actually, as I told you before, my father and brothers were very strict with my upbringing, so they didn’t allow me to date before I finished my studies.”

With a loud bang, Ouyang Bao slammed his chopsticks into the middle of the table.

“Xu Jing is the leader of the student movement at your school. You don’t seem to have any connection with him, but there’s a bookstore he frequents called Xinmin Bookstore. You have a close relationship with the owner and his fiancée, right? When this batch of cotton and cotton cloth was being transported, I had one of my men keep an eye on it. One of the guards was your driver, what’s his name, A-Cheng? Do you still dare to say that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with you?” Ouyang Bao suddenly looked at Gui’er with a sinister gaze.

“Detective Ouyang, look how frightened our young lady! She’s usually the most timid person. How could she possibly be associated with any student movements or progressive figures? But I admit, we haven’t been very respectful to you, and we’ll make up for it. Let’s not involve our young lady in this matter, shall we?” Wu Mingqiang quickly put a chicken leg into Ouyang Bao’s bowl, smiling obsequiously as he said, “After Miss Rumeng met you last time, she’s been captivated by your demeanor. She even praised you when she went to the pawnshop the other day, saying that it would be great if she could get close to someone like you. If you don’t mind, I can make connections for you two.”

"Oh? Really? Rumeng, this woman is quite alluring. Well, let's have some fun. But there's no benefit in marrying someone like that. As for me, don't let my rough appearance fool you. My wives are all well-educated and sensible. Some of them are even college graduates, so Miss Sha wouldn't be wasting her life if she married me." Ouyang Bao scratched his balding head and clicked his tongue.

The meal lasted from around 5 p.m. until after 8 p.m.

Ouyang Bao made his point very clear, but Gui'er still refused to compromise. With Wu Mingqiang and A Si helping him by changing the subject and offering gifts and beautiful women as alternatives, Ouyang Bao finally failed. However, he was very unwilling to give up. As Gui'er was seeing him off at the door, he turned around and grabbed her hand and touched it.

As soon as he left, Dingxiang started cursing in the hall: "Pah, a police chief, huh? He's just a gangster boss. He lost money in a business deal, and just because that merchant stopped in our pawnshop, he blamed us for it and even forced our young lady to become his concubine. What kind of logic is that? It's only in Hong Kong. If this were Jiangcheng, even if the second young master didn't step in, any one of us could shoot him dead."

Gui'er sat silently to one side, carefully recalling what Ouyang Bao had said at the banquet. She felt a chill run down her spine, unsure of how far his investigation into her and Chen Zhongyu had progressed. However, the fact that he had discovered she had sent A-Cheng to escort the cotton was indeed something he had incriminating evidence against her.