"Really? How come I didn't know that?"

The girl asked back without changing her expression.

Susan gently pulled her hand away, began to grope herself, and looked around.

She had originally moved the hidden box in her hat to her pants pocket after discovering it.

But now, when she reached into her pocket again, it was empty; the mechanism box was nowhere to be found.

"strangeness……"

Susan suddenly realized something, her eyes widened in shock, and she stared at the girl in front of her in disbelief. "You, did you take it?"

Chuanliu's eyes widened, and he shook his head innocently: "Sister Susan, what are you talking about? I don't understand what you're saying. What is that?"

Susan hesitated and said, "It's a puzzle box, I haven't figured it out yet... Could it not be yours?"

The girl shook her head again.

Susan tried to recall what she did after moving the box, but she couldn't figure out when she lost it.

What she didn't see was that with a slight movement of Chuanliu's fingers, the small wooden box disappeared into his sleeve.

Chuanliu preemptively asked, "Sister Susan, you weren't following me just to ask if this non-existent thing is mine, were you?"

“I didn’t…” Susan wanted to explain herself, but then felt it was unnecessary, so she stopped explaining.

Susan's eyes scrutinized the girl as she looked her up and down, taking in her rather provocative attire, before she spoke pointedly, "For a member of 'Square 10' to do this in the red-light district, you really have some nerve."

Chuanliu smiled. "You want to ask me why I came here?"

Susan nodded. "After Brother Qian and the others returned from Plum Blossom City, they discovered that you and all of them had lost contact. I really didn't expect to see you here. Last time we were face to face, I didn't even recognize you."

As she spoke, she leaned closer and carefully examined Chuanliu's face. "Tsk tsk tsk, your makeup skills are truly amazing. I'll hire you to be my assistant; it's better than you selling smiles here."

Chuanliu took two steps back; she wasn't used to being so close to people.

Her actions caught Susan's attention, and Susan immediately noticed her discomfort, so she put away her joking attitude and her expression became serious.

Susan looked directly at Chuanliu and said seriously, "Chuanliu, the reason I called you here today is that I want to have a serious talk with you about some things."

Chuanliu nodded slightly, leaned gently against a tree trunk, and slowly said, "I stayed in Plum Blossom City to see some old friends. I originally planned to return to Cube City immediately after visiting them. However, things didn't go as planned, and I unexpectedly ran into Jiulong on my way back."

The flow of people paused for a moment, as if recalling the scene at that time.

She continued, "You should know Jiulong. I was worried he would recognize me and that it would be bad for me. So I chose to disguise myself to hide my true identity. By some twist of fate, I ended up in the red-light district."

Susan's eyes were full of inquiry. "I didn't know you had old friends in Plum Blossom City. Who are you going to see?"

Chuanliu raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Sister Susan, I don't think I have any obligation to answer your question."

Susan frowned slightly; she knew there were some loopholes in Chuanliu's story.

But instead of directly pointing it out, she continued to press, "Even if you're going to see old friends, there's no need for you to suddenly disappear, is there? We're all very worried about you."

Chuanliu's voice carried a hint of teasing, "Looks like Brother Qian really told you everything."

The girl's meaning was clear—she didn't want Qian Chuan and the others to know.

Susan's heart tightened; she knew she had let something slip. She had no choice but to press on, asking, "You could have easily slipped away, so why did you choose to stay in this godforsaken place?"

A sense of unease and suspicion welled up in Susan's heart. She worried that Chuanliu might have already reached a cooperation agreement with Jiulong in advance, rather than standing on her side.

However, Chuanliu's next answer quickly dispelled her doubts.

“Since Jiulong has chosen to keep me, I’ll go with the flow and take this opportunity to investigate the doubts in my mind,” Chuanliu stated calmly.

Susan seemed to have thought of something and asked, "...What concerns?"

Chuanliu looked directly into Susan's eyes and replied, "Does Hou Yifan's transaction with Jiulong really fall under the scope of the red-light district's business?"

Susan remained silent for a moment, without answering.

However, the girl seemed dissatisfied with Susan's silence and mocked, "Since you know some of the inside story, you should be able to guess what I'm looking for. I'm helping you and the higher-ups at Red Hearts find clues right now, and you're still doubting me here."

Susan quickly explained, "Chuanliu, that's not what I meant. I was just... worried about your safety."

The girl waved her hand, stopping Susan from speaking. "Is there anything else you want to say? If not, I'll go back now. I have to continue being Jiulong's underling tomorrow morning."

With that, the girl turned to leave.

Susan pursed her lips and suddenly asked, "When did you regain your memories?"

Chuanliu silently met Susan's gaze, his deep eyes gleaming with an unfathomable light.

She chuckled, but her tone turned noticeably colder. "Sister Susan, are you interrogating me?"

Once the question has been asked, there's no reason to take it back.

Susan realized she might have been a bit presumptuous, but she remained calm and said, "No, I just wanted to know."

However, as Chuanliu drew closer, the inexplicable pressure emanating from her made Susan feel breathless.

Susan couldn't help but swallow hard and involuntarily took a few steps back.

Chuanliu suddenly changed the subject, looking directly into Susan's eyes, and asked, "Susan seems particularly curious about me tonight, but I also want to ask you a question. Mark, is he your subordinate?"

Susan was startled; she hadn't expected Chuanliu to be so perceptive in noticing this, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded stiffly.

Chuanliu pressed on, "You sent Mark to steal evidence of the transactions between Jiulong and Plum Blossom City. Did you intend to use these documents to deal with Jiulong and destroy his power?"

Susan remained silent for a moment, not answering directly, but her silence indirectly revealed her attitude.

Chuanliu smiled slightly, a playful curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Was this plan Qian Liu's idea for you?"

Susan abruptly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. The sudden appearance of the name "Brother Qian Liu" was completely unexpected.

She shook her head.

Susan countered, "Does Brother Qian know you're investigating these things?"

Chuanliu said with a hint of sarcasm, "You'd tell him anyway, wouldn't you?"