Faced with Tao Bai, who had materialized out of thin air, clutching a yellow paper umbrella, Gui Nianqiu jumped in fright.
Zhao Jianchao also let out an "Ah!" and nearly stumbled to the ground.
Stammering, he asked, "Who... who are you? How did you get in?"
"Flirting with a respectable woman in broad daylight, forcing her into prostitution—is that really acceptable?"
Tao Bai folded the yellow paper umbrella without acknowledging him, countering with her own question.
"What do you want?"
Zhao Jianchao forced himself to remain calm.
"What do you want?"
Tao Bai's expression darkened as he backhanded him across the room.
"SMACK!"
A sharp crack echoed through the office.
Though he couldn't see a thing, Zhao Jianchao felt his right cheek struck with considerable force.
Stars danced before his eyes.
"Answer BenZuo! What do you want?"
Tao Bai pointed at his own eyes, his voice filled with fury.
Zhao Jianchao hesitated only briefly before the same spot on his right cheek was struck again.
This blow was even harder, causing his right cheek to swell visibly in an instant.
"Still talking back?"
Seeing him silent, Tao Bai raised his hand for another slap.
"I'll pay! Whatever it takes..."
"Starting to get it. You're teachable."
Tao Bai lowered his hand and praised him.
"First, apologize to this young lady.
Then we'll discuss the money. Settle her wages immediately.
Compensate her as required.
Additionally, pay ten thousand yuan for mental distress due to workplace harassment.
Learn your lesson, and this matter is settled."
Zhao Jianchao was filled with terror and dread.
So he had come for Gui Nianqiu?
Wasn't her sister her only family?
How could such a powerful figure suddenly appear to back her up?
Gui Nianqiu stared at Tao Bai, who had materialized to rescue her, filled with questions.
Yet she knew this wasn't the moment to speak.
Zhao Jianchao bowed slightly to Gui Nianqiu, offering a sincere apology.
Then, turning to Tao Bai with a forced smile, he said:
"Her internship salary was 2,400.
Since she was dismissed without cause, the company must compensate her with two additional months' salary—uh, so, that's 7200.
Plus 10,000 for emotional distress, totaling 17,200. I'll pay it right now."
Tao Bai stared at him expressionless, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Zhao Jianchao covered his face, rushed to a metal box, fiddled with it for a moment, opened the safe, and pulled out eighteen thousand yuan, handing it to Gui Nianqiu.
After taking the money, Gui Nianqiu withdrew eight bills, placed them back on his desk, and tucked the rest into her small backpack.
"Nianqiu, step under the umbrella and hold me tight around the waist."
Watching Gui Nianqiu like this, Tao Bai opened the yellow paper umbrella with his left hand, his tone suddenly softening.
Gui Nianqiu sniffed, removed her glasses, and roughly wiped away her tears.
She looked at Tao Bai with a puzzled expression.
Despite her confusion, deep down she felt an instinctive trust toward this suddenly appearing man, a strange yet firm sense of security welling up inside her.
She put her glasses back on, stepped under the yellow paper umbrella, glanced at Tao Bai, then slowly reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.
"Shun!"
(Shun: Teleport)
Tao Bai held the umbrella in one hand while forming various finger seals with the other.
With a light shout, the two vanished and reappeared in a desolate wilderness.
Back in the office, Zhao Jianchao stared at the empty space where they had been, lost in thought.
He hurriedly activated the office surveillance, only to discover the feed had inexplicably malfunctioned before Tao Bai's arrival.
Furious, he slammed his fist hard onto the desk.
Yet beneath his anger, he carefully replayed the scene in his mind.
Someone with such power... only made me pay eighteen thousand.
Didn't demand more. Didn't kill me...
A flicker of relief crossed Zhao Jianchao's mind at this thought.
"Huh?"
Gui Nianqiu glanced around, realizing she'd been transported to the middle of nowhere.
She suddenly pinched her thigh hard, doubting whether she was dreaming.
"Ouch!"
The sharp pain instantly confirmed it wasn't a dream!
But all this felt too surreal...
The worldview she'd painstakingly built began to crumble.
"Thank you for saving me, Master.
May I ask your name?
You called me Nianqiu just now—
How did you know my name?"
Taking a deep breath, Gui Nianqiu addressed him repeatedly as "Master," pouring out her confusion.
"This is your sister's phone. Here."
"You knew my sister?!"
Grasping the phone, Gui Nianqiu's voice rose several decibels in sheer excitement.
She hadn't been able to reach her sister all day.
"We met."
Tao Bai replied softly.
"Then where is my sister now? How did her phone end up with you?"
Nianqiu's eyes, brimming with tears, fixed on Tao Bai.
But Tao Bai remained silent.
Gui Nianqiu's eyes welled up with tears as she began to sob.
"Is my elder sister...
I knew it.
Last night I dreamed of her.
She told me to take good care of myself...
I just didn't want to believe it..."
"Compose yourself."
Tao Bai spoke in a flat tone.
"How did my sister die?"
Gui Nianqiu asked after calming slightly.
Tao Bai still did not answer her question.
"Did she die horribly?"
Gui Nianqiu voiced her inner suspicion.
Tao Bai remained tight-lipped, silent.
In that moment, the silence spoke volumes.
Emotionally shattered, Gui Nianqiu sank to the ground and began wailing.
"The one who harmed her is already dead. Your sister's only lingering concern was for you. Live well."
Tao Bai pulled a large stack of money from his storage pouch and handed it to Gui Nianqiu.
"Take this. Open a shop. Do some business."
Before Gui Nianqiu could refuse, Tao Bai gave a sharp command:
"Shun!"
In the next instant, he appeared in another barren wasteland.
Nearly a thousand hundred-yuan bills drifted down with the wind.
After a moment of dazed realization, Gui Nianqiu picked them up one by one and stuffed them into his small backpack.
The Baiyun Villa District was located in Yufeng District, Liu City.
Property prices here now exceed three thousand yuan per square meter, a five- to seventy-percent increase from seven years ago.
At that time, Tao Bai's fiancée, Shen Bing, had lived in the Baiyun Villa District.
Tao Bai pulled out a pack of Furongwang cigarettes and offered one to the elderly security guard at the booth.
"Sir, does the Shen family still live around here?"
The old man took the cigarette, shielding it from the wind with his lighter as he lit it.
"Which Shen family?"
"Shen Yuan..."
Before he could finish, Tao Bai leapt back two meters. A thick glob of phlegm landed precisely where he had been standing.
"Aaaargh!"
A young man, arm around a punk-styled girl with a nose ring, casually spat as he passed by Tao Bai.
He continued walking forward, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Young Master Luo, did that spicy snail noodle soup hit you too hard?"
The girl asked with concern.
"Probably just not used to switching cigarettes yet.
I'll grab a Green Arrow from my E280 and chew on that. Cough cough cough... spit!"
He pulled out his keys and pressed the button.
The Mercedes parked by the roadside flashed its lights.
The young delinquent girl's eyes lit up when she saw the car.
"Hey, kid!"
Tao Bai tapped him on the shoulder from behind, calling out,
"Spitting in public isn't very nice, you know."
"What the hell is it to you? Who the fuck are you?"