Chapter 91: Report Her

Lin Jingyue thought it over, turned to report it, and then suddenly heard a burst of chaotic footsteps.

"This way, don't let them get away..."

Several people who had just gone out came scrambling back in, their headscarves blown to the ground.

So the bazaar had been exposed.

Lin Jingyue hurriedly shrank back, darted into a blind corner, and slipped into her hidden realm.

A flood of people poured into the alley—some wearing armbands, some in all sorts of disguises, and others who looked like the bazaar’s own managers.

But the managers knew the ropes and vanished in no time, leaving the rest to suffer.

Whether someone had tipped them off or not, a great many people had come, and plenty of black-market profiteers were there too, though only a few managed to escape.

Looking at the dark mass of people filling the alley, Lin Jingyue’s mouth twitched hard. They had truly swept the place clean.

"Old Xu, there’s a big fish over here!" Suddenly, an excited voice rang out from the alley on the left.

The armband-wearing comrades who had just stopped all rushed over.

The people on site exchanged glances. Then someone shouted, "Run!"

At once, everyone scattered into the surrounding alleys and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Lin Jingyue...

There was even a twist?

She searched the crowd for Lin Xinrou’s figure, but regrettably did not see her, and a trace of disappointment rose in her heart.

The place gradually grew quiet. Lin Jingyue planned to wait a little longer before coming out of her hidden realm.

Five minutes later.

A few sneaky figures emerged from the bazaar’s entrance.

She lounged with one leg crossed in her hidden realm, eyes narrowing slightly. More fish had slipped through the net?

Lin Xinrou?

That girl was really clever.

She had actually hidden herself in the most dangerous place. Watching those few people creep out and then flee in different directions, Lin Jingyue seized the chance, came out of the hidden realm, and followed Lin Xinrou.

Given the opportunity, if she didn’t knock Lin Xinrou down, she would refuse to believe it.

These alleys were usually sparsely populated, and Lin Xinrou probably wasn’t very familiar with them either. Like a headless fly, she twisted and turned for a long while and still couldn’t find her way out.

Lin Jingyue, following behind her, had to twitch at the corner of her mouth.

If they kept circling like this, everyone would already be gone. Catching anybody would be pointless.

After thinking it over, she came up with a plan. She deliberately went ahead of Lin Xinrou, carrying a basket on her back.

Since she was still dressed as a man, Lin Jingyue wasn’t worried about Lin Xinrou recognizing her as long as she didn’t turn around.

She even put on two extra layers, making herself look broad-backed and burly, and walked like a rough man.

Sure enough, with her leading the way, Lin Xinrou seemed to follow along.

"Brother, were you running out too?"

At the sound of Lin Xinrou’s voice, Lin Jingyue’s mouth twitched, and she nearly couldn’t resist turning around to give her a solid slap.

Her steps never faltered as she kept walking forward with her head down.

The direction she was heading was the same way the others had gone to chase people. Lin Jingyue had no idea whether she would run into them.

She could only take her chances.

As it happened, her luck was good. By the time Lin Xinrou had chased after her to the third alley, there was movement ahead.

Lin Jingyue’s eyes flashed, and she quickened her pace considerably.

"Brother, brother, wait..." Lin Xinrou called after her, one hand on her waist.

She was lost and couldn’t get out at all.

Lin Jingyue’s mouth twitched again. That idiot—brother your sister.

She sped up even more, turned immediately into a fork in the alley, and broke into a run.

Not far ahead, she heard noisy voices.

The way Lin Xinrou was dressed, anyone could tell at a glance that she had been to the black market. There was no way she could deny it.

The corners of Lin Jingyue’s mouth almost stretched to her ears.

She kicked her pace into full gear and soon disappeared without a trace.

...

Half an hour later, Lin Jingyue, now changed into a lovely young girl, appeared at the scrap collection station carrying a wild chicken.

When Old Huo saw her, joy surfaced in his eyes, but upon seeing the bright, eager smile on her face, the corner of his mouth twitched.

This girl was probably scheming against him again.

"Master..."

"You little wretch, are you dating that boy from the Jiang family?" Old Huo deliberately put on a stern face.

Ordinary people might have been intimidated by him, but Lin Jingyue was a real scoundrel. She grinned and leaned in. "Yes. Jiang Xun is quite outstanding. He’s worthy of your disciple, me."

"...A girl should be more modest."

"I’m not ashamed of anything. When you meet someone excellent, of course you have to seize the chance."

"..."

"By the way, old man, since your disciple is getting married, you’d better prepare a proper dowry. Otherwise people will look down on me."

"You know I have no father, no mother, no relatives, no one at all. I can only rely on you. You wouldn’t bear to see your disciple made a laughingstock, all alone and without anyone, would you?"

When it came to acting pitiful, Lin Jingyue was unmatched.

And with her thick skin, even Old Huo’s own face began to twitch. Looking at the shameless girl before him, he was utterly speechless.

It seemed his little stash of possessions might not survive this.

"Old man, if Jiang Xun’s family tries to stop us in the future, you’ll have to stand up for me."

"They dare!" Old Huo exploded at once. "You’re my disciple. What right do they have to look down on you? Don’t worry, I’m here."

"Then, Master, prepare me more dowry, and I’ll have more confidence."

"Fine."

A triumphant look appeared on Lin Jingyue’s face.

Old Huo...

He glared at Lin Jingyue in exasperation. "You crafty little girl, so many schemes in that head of yours. Have you really set your sights only on that boy from the Jiang family? You could consider someone else. That boy Song Shiyun is also not bad. He studied under me for two years, so he counts as one of my students, and he wouldn’t dare treat you badly."

Song Shiyun, who had just stepped through the door, felt a jolt in his heart.

He very much wanted to say: Teacher, could you please stop harming me? He did not think he had that kind of fate. He simply couldn’t bear it.

Besides, if Jiang Xun learned that he was making moves on his little junior sister, there was no doubt he would come into the city that very night and wipe him out.

It wasn’t as though that madman had never done such things before.

"Forget it. He’s not as good-looking as Jiang Xun." Song Shiyun had just been about to speak when he heard Lin Jingyue’s disdainful voice, and his breath immediately stuck in his throat.

He reflexively touched his own face, then had to admit that, in terms of appearance, he really did seem to fall a tiny bit short of Jiang Xun.

Speechless.

"You’re my disciple. How can you be so shallow?" Old Huo said angrily.

"No choice. I’m a complete looks fanatic." It couldn’t be helped, Lin Jingyue said with a shrug.

The old and the young looked at one another, both sighing in silence.

Song Shiyun walked over.

"What are you doing here?" The two of them wore equally disdainful expressions.

Song Shiyun: "..."

That hurt.

"What do you want here? There’s no place for you here. Hurry up and leave." Old Huo’s favoritism was impossible to miss.

Song Shiyun said, "I came to bring you some liquor, Old Huo. Since you don’t want it, then I..."

"Put the liquor down and get lost. Don’t disturb us."

Song Shiyun was so exasperated he almost laughed.

Lin Jingyue covered her mouth and giggled nonstop, and when she saw Song Shiyun turning back every few steps, she laughed so hard it sounded like a set of bells.

"What are you laughing at? Hurry up and recite!" The smile froze at once.

Lin Jingyue gave an awkward, heh-heh laugh. "Can I recite it next time?"

"What do you think?"

Half an hour later, Lin Jingyue staggered out of the scrap collection station with her hair singed and her spirits low.