Chapter 24

"Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother."

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As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Xiaozhang saw Jia Hongjian and asked excitedly, "The hairdryer at home is broken, so I came to the mall to buy another one. It just so happens that Lao Luo's house isn't far from here; it's only a ten-minute walk. What's in the box you're holding?"

Seeing her excited expression, as if she had met an old classmate in a foreign place, Jia Hongjian guessed that the last time he asked for Lao Luo's full name, it made Xiaozhang feel that they were very close. So, he smiled and told her about the counterfeit goods he had bought and his intention to seek compensation.

"Is this Ziyun Mall selling fake goods?" The pure girl with a ponytail widened her eyes in surprise, her mouth forming a large 'O'. "A state-owned mall selling fake goods?" She still found it hard to believe what she had heard. But after a moment, she asked Jia Hongjian earnestly, "Should we ask Grandpa Luo or Sister Wang for help? Grandpa Luo used to be the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau."

Jia Hongjian hadn't expected to hear about Grandpa Luo's background at this moment. After pondering for a few seconds, he shook his head and said, "No, it's not good to trouble Grandpa Luo over such a small matter. We can handle it ourselves." No matter how Zhang Fenggu tried to persuade him, even with Wang Danshui joining in, Jia Hongjian kept shaking his head.

Of course, he didn't want to seek help for such a small matter. Although a thousand yuan seemed like a lot, how significant could it be to a former director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau? If he had just been bullied and then went home crying for help, wouldn't it be embarrassing? It would be a minor issue, but it would also create a sense of indebtedness. Next time when he needed help with something important, it would be hard to ask.

After parting ways with Zhang Fenggu, Wang Danshui, who was following Jia Hongjian home, surprisingly didn't force him to seek help, which made Jia Hongjian quite surprised. In his memory, Wang Danshui had always been like a queen of the demons, treating him like a toy and forcing him to do many things she thought he should do.

"What's wrong? According to your personality, shouldn't you be using some joke like 'I just finished a date and didn't pay' to force me to seek help? Why are you so quiet today?" Jia Hongjian finally asked the gluttonous little fox spirit curiously.

To his surprise, the demon queen Wang Danshui looked at him with astonishment, "Don't you have a plan? And didn't you say you had your own way? Since you've already thought it through, I'll just watch you do it." She said this without any hint of sarcasm, as if she was giving him the initiative, like a wife following her husband.

This feeling was truly bizarre for Jia Hongjian! It was like hearing that Tiger Woods was a sex addict and had slept with many AV actresses, only to find out the next day that he was actually gay. Or like his mother, who had been nagging him to find a girlfriend and get married, suddenly becoming as quiet as a girlfriend and not nagging at all.

But at this moment, Jia Hongjian suddenly understood what was happening—could it be that after his rebirth, he had shown a completely different maturity and strength in some matters, unlike his former self, and had gradually subdued the demon queen?

This was indeed strange, like finding out that the strict father he had always known was actually a little boy in open shorts who could be easily teased. Along with the strangeness, there was a bit of rebellious fun.

In his previous life, Wang Danshui had always been a mystery to him, making him feel both close and distant. Now, the Wang Danshui in front of him felt like a newly tamed little wildcat, still a bit wild and rebellious deep down, but at least outwardly submissive.

He reached out to pinch the little fox spirit's face, which was tempting to crime, and found that she looked at him calmly, without any sign of anger. He continued to pinch her soft, smooth face, which would make most men's eyes go straight, for about ten seconds. The little fox spirit still had a puzzled look, with no sign of going crazy or trying to take off his pants. This was amazing! This was fun!

"What's wrong?" The little fox spirit, whose face had been pinched for a long time, blinked and asked.

"Nothing, I just suddenly think you're quite pretty. Hehe." Jia Hongjian smiled. Although he said this, he suddenly realized that Wang Danshui was a sixteen-year-old girl, someone he could control, dominate, and tease. Would he say such things to her casually? In the past, she had always teased him, but now he felt he could turn the tables and start teasing her. Would he say such things to anyone casually?

"Be serious, you should think about how to make Mr. Yang give us the money." The little wildcat Wang Danshui pushed away the hand that had been pinching her face and looked up at the "younger brother" she had started to depend on, a bit helplessly.

While Jia Hongjian was discovering he could tease the little fox spirit, the young maid Zhang Fenggu hurriedly returned to Grandpa Luo's house. She was surprised to find that Grandpa Luo wasn't home. Anxious, she started searching for him in every corner of the house and the neighborhood. Finally, she found him at the elderly activity center's gateball court. She approached him anxiously and told him about Jia Hongjian's situation.

"Grandpa, please help Mr. Jia. He spent a thousand yuan and bought fake goods. I asked him to come to you for help, but he was too embarrassed and refused to speak. Look at how dedicated he is when teaching Lizzi..."

"Hmm..." Grandpa Luo listened to the maid's request and thought for a long time before saying calmly, "Alright, I understand. I will help. Ziyun Mall has gone too far. As a state-owned unit, how can they lack party spirit? Here's what we'll do. Go home and call Koulan, and have her ask her friends for help."

After saying this, Grandpa Luo watched the maid walk away. "Old Luo, what's wrong? Is there something at home?" "No, a friend of mine was cheated. It's not appropriate for me to intervene, as I'm already retired. I asked the maid to have Koulan step in, as she still has some connections in the Industry and Commerce Bureau."

After returning home, the maid Zhang Fenggu quickly found the phone book and dialed Wang Koulan's office number. "Hello? Is Ms. Wang Koulan there? I'm her housekeeper, my name is Zhang, yes, I'm Xiao Zhang. Grandpa Luo asked me to call Ms. Wang. What? Ms. Wang is in a meeting? Oh, you're her secretary? Here's what happened..."

At the same time, Jia Hongjian was standing in front of a breakfast stall, talking to a greasy man, "Brother, what do you think of what I just said? Five yuan a day..."

At this point, Jia Hongjian suddenly stopped, noticing that the greasy man was staring straight at Wang Danshui's delicate face, completely ignoring what he was saying.

Just as Jia Hongjian was considering whether to use a beauty strategy and have Wang Danshui speak, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the breakfast stall. The shadow stopped beside the three of them and gradually revealed itself to be a burly woman.

This woman looked quite ordinary, like a hardworking woman from a poor family, but her fiery and energetic manner made her seem like a reconnaissance soldier in a female military unit or a tiger-taming expert.

Without hesitation, she sized up the greasy man and the ice-clear, alluring little fox spirit, then saw the man's eyes go straight. Without a word, she grabbed the man's ear, his weak point.

A pig-like scream echoed as the man was dragged into the stall by the tiger-taming expert. After a moment, a series of bangs, and the tiger-taming expert came out alone, "Do you want to buy Shenmu? If you don't buy it, leave quickly. Don't... Don't obstruct business here!"

"Hehe, sister, don't be in a hurry. I have a business proposal for you. It will only take you half a day, and I'll give you five yuan. You don't have to do any hard work, just hold up a sign and speak for me. And it's absolutely not against the people..." Jia Hongjian, with a scholarly smile, said to the tiger-taming expert...

What do Chinese businesspeople fear most? Not market competition, but someone standing at the store entrance saying bad things about the store and blocking customers from entering. This isn't just a loss of a few sales; it's much more serious. And the worst part is, it's not a crime, not even a violation of the law or public order. If you call the police, they can only do on-site mediation, criticize and educate, and drive the person away... But you can't call the police every day, can you? You can't have the police officers working at the store entrance every day, can you?