The expected scolding in Chapter 21 did not materialize.

The journey back to the base was exceptionally long.

Fang Che hung his head, the pain in his ankle far less than the torment in his heart.

He could almost hear Ah Gui's merciless mockery: "I told you long ago that this pretty boy is unreliable!"

And in Li Hanzhou's unfathomable phoenix eyes, there was a coldness that perhaps didn't even bother to offer disappointment.

"Tiezi," Fang Che's voice trembled, "do you think it would do any good if I went back and begged Brother Li for help?"

Cheng Tieniu scratched his head, his expression honest but cutting: "Che, Boss Li doesn't seem like the type to fall for this."

Fang Che: "..." Never mind, he's overthinking it.

Dejected, Fang Che returned to the base, bracing himself for a storm.

He even practiced his posture for admitting his mistake beforehand!

Bow at a 90-degree angle, your voice choked with emotion, making sure to portray regret and helplessness.

However, things took a somewhat unexpected turn.

When Ah Gui saw that he had returned empty-handed and looked dejected, he only snorted coldly and did not immediately start criticizing him.

Li Hanzhou was listening to Uncle Chen's report in a low voice when he only glanced at him indifferently. His eyes... showed no anger, but rather a calm as if he had "already expected it".

"Brother Li..." Fang Che sidled up to him, his voice barely audible, "I messed up. The money and the contract... were stolen."

He closed his eyes and awaited judgment.

Before Li Hanzhou could speak, A Gui sneered, "Stolen? Young Master Fang, is the first step in your 'clever outing' to offer warmth to the thieves on Portland Street?"

Fang Che's face flushed red, and his stubbornness as a Northeasterner kicked in: "Who offered any help! I was just careless!"

"Careless?" Ah Gui crossed his arms. "Brother Li, I knew this kid..."

"That's enough," Li Hanzhou said, his voice steady.

He looked at Fang Che, "Do you know who did it?"

"It's a little girl! Skinny and tiny, she bumped into me and the thing was gone!" Fang Che quickly described, "She has big eyes, blond hair, and her clothes are tattered..."

Uncle Chen interjected, "Hanzhou, there's been a pickpocket on Portland Street lately, nicknamed 'Xi Rong.' She's quick and nimble, and she specifically targets unfamiliar faces."

Xi Rong? Fang Che remembered the name.

Unwilling to give up, they charged forward!

He could be despised by Li Hanzhou and mocked by A Gui, but he couldn't let a little girl make a fool of him!

"Brother Li!" Fang Che suddenly looked up, his peach blossom eyes blazing with anger. "I will definitely get the money and the contract back! Otherwise, I'll walk backwards on Portland Street from now on!"

Seeing his sullen expression, Li Hanzhou felt inexplicably relieved.

He tapped his fingers on his knee: "How do I find it?"

"I..." Fang Che was speechless, but he had already made the boast, so he could only stick to it, "I'll go back to Portland Street and wait for her! She'll definitely still be there!"

Ah Gui sneered, "Portland Street is so big, do you think it's the entrance to your village?"

"It's all about human effort!" Fang Che said stubbornly. "Tiezi, come with me!"

Cheng Tieniu unconditionally agreed: "Okay! I'll go with you!"

Li Hanzhou didn't object, only saying, "Don't cause any more trouble."

He then closed his eyes again, which was considered tacit consent.

Fang Che felt like he had been granted a pardon and dragged Cheng Tieniu back to Portland Street.

But finding Xi Rong was much more difficult than he had imagined.

On the first day, the two of them wandered around the narrow alley like door gods, asking everyone they met, "Have you seen a skinny little girl?" They received countless wary looks and looks of disbelief, as if they were crazy.

My ankles were swollen from standing, and I didn't even catch a glimpse of Xi Rong.

The next day, Fang Che tried to lure them with meat buns, but he and Cheng Tieniu almost finished the buns, and their target was still nowhere to be found.

An older woman mistook him for a street vendor and asked him how much the steamed buns cost.

On the third day, Fang Che tried to get close to the homeless children, but due to the language barrier and his outstanding appearance, he was almost mistaken for a child trafficker. Fortunately, Cheng Tieniu's large size kept him in check.

"Damn! This is even harder than becoming brothers with Li Hanzhou!" On the third night, Fang Che collapsed on the tattered sofa, his soul seemingly leaving his body. "Is that girl Tu Xingsun? Can she burrow underground?"

Li Hanzhou's injuries have improved, and he occasionally goes downstairs for walks.

Watching Fang Che act like a defeated rooster that refuses to admit defeat, going out with his head held high and returning with his feathers drooping, I found it rather amusing.

On the fourth day, just when Fang Che was about to give up, a turning point appeared.

The little boy playing marbles, after receiving a lollipop from Cheng Tieniu, vaguely pointed in a direction...

The deepest and most chaotic part of Portland Street is full of shacks and garbage.

Clinging to their last hope, Fang Che and Cheng Tieniu waded through the mud, one step at a time.

The environment is getting worse and worse, and the smell is pungent.

Fang Che covered his nose and wailed: "To think that I, Wang Tiezhu, with my illustrious reputation, would have to search for a thief in a garbage dump..."

As they passed a corner piled high with scrap, Fang Che suddenly grabbed Cheng Tieniu.

Not far ahead, a thin figure squatted outside a dilapidated shed, struggling to fan a small stove with a blackened medicine pot on it.

It is indeed Xi Rong!

Fang Che was furious and was about to rush forward when he saw the curtain of the shed door lifted, and the old woman with a sallow face tremblingly leaned out.

Xi Rong put down her fan and ran over to help her up, holding a steaming bun to her mother-in-law's lips, her voice soft: "Grandma, take your medicine first, eat something to tide you over..."

The old woman coughed and pushed the steamed bun away, seemingly wanting her to eat first.

Xi Rong stubbornly held it up, her dirty little face displaying a persistence beyond her years.

Fang Che's foot, which was about to step out, instantly froze in place.

He looked at the clothes that were even more tattered than a few days ago, the drafty shed, the bitter smell of medicine, and Xi Rong's thin figure in the firelight...

Thinking back to before I transmigrated, I was at least well-fed and clothed; I had never experienced such a real struggle.

The anger of demanding an explanation leaked out like a balloon punctured by a needle.

Instead, it tastes sour and astringent.

His rough, tough Northeastern heart softened.

"Tiezi," Fang Che's voice was a little hoarse, "let's... go back first."

Cheng Tieniu couldn't bear it either: "Che, that girl is really pitiful..."

"Pitiful as she may be! Stealing is wrong!" Fang Che said stubbornly, but his words lacked conviction. He glanced one last time at the old man and the child huddled together in the cold wind, then quietly slipped away.

On the way back, Fang Che was unusually silent.

The image of Xi Rong serving her mother-in-law kept replaying in her mind, and compared with her previous bold statement of "pulling her out", her face burned.

Back at the base, Li Hanzhou was drinking tea while A Gui reported to him.

"Found it?" Li Hanzhou didn't even look up.

"Found it, found it."

"What about the money and the contract?"

"...I didn't want it." Fang Che's voice was even lower.

Ah Gui gave him a knowing look.

Fang Che took a deep breath, as if making a decision. He looked up, his eyes darting away, but his tone tried to be firm: "Brother Li! Consider that money a loan! I'll find a way to make up the contract! But Xi Rong... it's wrong of her to steal! But she did it to buy medicine for her mother-in-law! Her mother-in-law is dying..."

He spoke incoherently, and the more he spoke, the more obvious his attempt to cover up his mistake became.

Li Hanzhou put down his teacup and looked up at him.

The boy's cheeks flushed, his eyes lost their liveliness and became misty, filled with the conflicted feeling of "I'm stubborn, but my heart won't listen to me."

"so?"

"So...can we please stop bothering her for now?" Fang Che wanted to slap himself as soon as he finished speaking. What kind of talk was that! He had no backbone at all!

Li Hanzhou stared at him for a few seconds, making Fang Che feel uneasy, before slowly saying, "Whatever you say."

Fang Che was stunned. That was it? No one was going to scold him for being too kind? No one was going to mock him for being overly compassionate?

Ah Gui was also surprised, but since Li Hanzhou had spoken, he could only swallow his dissatisfaction and glare at Fang Che.

Fang Che returned to the tattered sofa in the corner, feeling dizzy and filled with mixed emotions.

She felt like she had messed up again, but Li Hanzhou's reaction... didn't seem so bad?