Chuanliu immediately opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

When they looked in the direction of Zhui Ming, the man had already disappeared, leaving only the curtains fluttering in the breeze.

She opened the door, and Qian Chuan was waiting outside with his hands in his pockets.

"I wonder what brings Brother Qian Liu here so late?"

Chuanliu leaned against the door frame, seemingly having no intention of letting Qian Chuan in.

Qian Chuan's gaze passed through the girl and landed on the space behind her, as he inquired, seemingly casually, "Did you just fall asleep?"

The girl nodded and teased, "Your wake-up service is a bit early."

The man smiled, a hint of something unreadable in his eyes. "Is that so? As long as I didn't bother you."

Chuanliu narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Qian Chuan stepped forward and approached the girl. "Before leaving the 'Drunken Bar,' I heard some things from Xiao Yao."

Unexpectedly, Xiaoyao, who seemed honest and introverted, turned around and sold herself out.

Chuanliu remained expressionless, looking directly at the man. "Oh? What is it?"

Qian Chuan lowered his eyes, his wisps of hair obscuring his vision. "It's nothing. I just wanted to tell you that there are many other choices in the world, and many more on Paradise Island. Don't get into conflicts with others over this."

Chuanliu stared at him for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"Brother Qian Liu, you didn't come here specifically to persuade me that the sea of ​​suffering is boundless and that I should turn back before it's too late, did you?"

Qian Chuan: "I was just reminding you."

Chuanliu straightened up, leisurely walked back into the house, and hopped onto the table. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'True love conquers all', Brother Qian Liu?"

Qian Chuan followed the girl into the house and said seriously, "All I know is that Susan will get the person she sets her sights on."

Chuanliu rested one hand on the table, his eyes full of smiles, "Then don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to talk about true love on Paradise Island."

Qian Chuan raised his eyes.

For some reason, even though the answer was reassuring, he felt somewhat disappointed.

"It's good that you know what's going on," he said.

Just as Qian Chuan was about to leave, Chuan Liu suddenly called out to him, "Wait a minute. Don't you have anything to say about those people from today?"

"You mean He Dadong and Zhuang Qiang?" Qian Chuan asked.

Chuanliu nodded. "You are the owner of Yorozuya, after all. Don't you have any information to share with your allies?"

Qian Chuan curled the corners of his mouth. "Although I run an Odd Jobs Shop, it doesn't mean I know everything."

He paused, then continued, "But I do have some news here."

Chuanliu: "Oh?"

Qian Chuan: "But you have to promise me you won't cause trouble this time."

Chuanliu: "Brother Qian, what are you saying? When have I ever caused trouble?"

Disruption is aimed at disturbing others; all she ever does is interfere for her own benefit.

The motivations are different.

Thinking of this, the girl revealed an expression of a clear conscience.

"You'd better be."

Qian Chuan gave a light "humph" before saying, "The person Jiulong went to Plum Blossom City this time was 'Plum Blossom 9.' They usually have business dealings, so it's not surprising."

"Plum Blossom 9?" Chuanliu asked.

Qian Chuan nodded. "Hou Yifan, 'Plum Blossom 9,' was a... rapist before he came to the island. So you know what his deal with Jiulong was, right?"

What kind of deal could a rapist and the head of a red-light district possibly make?

They're all things that can't be brought to light.

Qian Chuan continued, "I heard that the two of them recently closed a big deal, and Jiulong got a lot of money."

Chuanliu nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that it was this "big order" that gave Jiulong the means to assassinate Susan.

"So... is Jiulong going to get involved in the '9' and '10' dispute in Plum Blossom City?" Chuanliu asked, frowning.

It wasn't that she was suspicious, but the fact that the two collaborators, one being "Nine of Hearts" Jiu Long and the other "Nine of Clubs" Hou Yifan, made it hard not to think of the "9" versus "10" controversy.

Qian Chuan shook his head. "It shouldn't be. At least, this problem doesn't exist in Plum Blossom City for the time being."

Chuanliu: "What do you mean?"

Qian Chuan: "I don't know why, but Hou Yifan, the 'Plum Blossom 9,' and Li Quanyou, the 'Plum Blossom 10,' in Plum Blossom City have always maintained a strange balance. Perhaps it's because they have no shared interests; perhaps Hou Yifan isn't interested in the 'Plum Blossom 10' position; or perhaps..."

"Or perhaps, Hou Yifan can't find anyone to support him," Chuanliu added.

Qian Chuan raised an eyebrow at the girl, "You've never even met him, so why did you come to that conclusion?"

Chuanliu shrugged. Although she had only met Li Quanyou, the "Plum Blossom 10," once and was unaware of the relationship between Hou Yifan and Li Quanyou, she knew one thing—

Rapists are among the most despised groups everywhere.

Unfortunately, Hou Yifan is still alive and well.

The city of plum blossoms has repeatedly refreshed her understanding of "degeneration".

"So, do you think there's a debate about whether the City of Hearts will have a '9' or a '10'?"

Chuanliu asked, though she already had the answer in her heart, she still wanted to hear Qian Chuan's opinion.

Unsurprisingly, the latter nodded. "The debate over '9' and '10' is a historical issue; we've been through it too, haven't we?"

Chuanliu: "You're not trying to say that their conflict is also due to so-called 'historical reasons,' are you?"

Qian Chuan: "Of course not. The conflict between Jiu Long and Susan is actually quite obvious. Jiu Long is clearly the manager of the red-light district industry, but there is someone above him who is suppressing him."

And this person, unfortunately, is Susan, who has virtually no real administrative power in the City of Hearts. If I were her, I wouldn't be satisfied either.

"He's not satisfied, so why not ring the bell of judgment? At least Zhuang Qiang and He Dadong were originally on his side, weren't they?" Chuan Liu asked.

Qian Chuan shook his head. "The City of Hearts is different from us. You have to look at this from the perspective of their industrial chain."

The flow is clear.

Unlike Xu Zhi, Jiu Long couldn't possibly have discussed things with everyone from "2 of Hearts" to "8 of Hearts" before.

Because the number between "2" and "8" has been automatically divided into two factions—the casino industry chain and the red-light district industry chain.

Everyone hopes that the highest number below the top is "10" and belongs to their own faction.

Therefore, people like Wang Shuo, who are formal residents of the casino industry chain, would absolutely not support Kowloon. Kowloon also doesn't need to bother with such a thing.

From this perspective, Susan's existence is quite necessary.

Although Susan didn't play a significant role in day-to-day management, she subtly helped to create a balance between the two supply chains.

Therefore, Kowloon, a red-light district, is an alternative.

However, Susan, whose home ground is in the Uncharted District and who has no clear factional affiliation in the City of Hearts, is irreplaceable.

Unfortunately, it seems that Jiulong didn't see this point clearly.