"Susan, what good news did we miss?"
The girl's voice came from not far away.
Immediately afterwards, Chuanliu and Qianchuan appeared in front of everyone.
Susan didn't actually want the two of them to come into contact with Jiulong, especially Chuanliu.
She knew a little about Qian Chuan, but if Jiulong offered any more tempting terms, she might lose an important ally of the Cube City.
At least those she considered allies.
The sudden appearance of the two men made Susan's heart jump.
"Oh, so you guys were here. I thought you went to find Wang Shuo and the others."
Susan replied naturally, seemingly unaware of the situation, but her expression towards Chuanliu and the other person showed a hint of tension.
The girl seemed oblivious to Susan's gaze, and looked cheerfully at Jiulong, asking, "And who is this?"
Susan gave an awkward laugh and quickly smoothed things over, saying, "This is 'Nine of Hearts' Jiulong. Zhuang Qiang and He Dadong, whom you met earlier, are his men."
She deliberately mentioned the two red-light district managers who didn't have a good reputation, trying to lead the girl to develop a preconceived prejudice.
The girl was taken aback at first, then gave Jiulong a stiff, polite smile.
Seeing this, Susan felt that her words had worked and couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.
Jiulong warmly extended his hand to the girl he was meeting for the first time. Even though He Dadong and Zhuang Qiang had already described her to him, he was still amazed when he saw her in person.
"Hello, Ms. Chuanliu, I am Jiulong, the 'Nine of Hearts'."
"Brother Long, I've long admired your name. I am '10 of Diamonds' Chuanliu."
Chuanliu briefly grasped his hand, then quickly pulled it away.
Qian Chuan and Jiu Long had met before, and they greeted each other.
Now that everyone had met, Susan had no reason to send them away.
She instructed her subordinates to prepare fruits and snacks and then arranged for everyone to go to the garden.
Throughout the conversation, Jiulong intentionally or unintentionally steered the conversation towards Qianchuan and Chuanliu. His purpose was quite clear—he needed to confirm whether the two had already reached a cooperation agreement with Susan.
Unfortunately, he only received ambiguous answers.
"..."
"How come I didn't know that Ms. Chuanliu knew Susan before?"
"It's quite a coincidence. I had the privilege of seeing Sister Susan's auction before, and her professional skills are truly exceptional."
"Brother Qian Liu has been staying at Shuo Wu's place before, but this time he's staying here with Miss Chuan Liu. When will you visit my place? I guarantee you'll both be satisfied."
"Brother Long is always running around, how could we possibly bother him any longer?"
"Not at all. My home, as well as Da Dong's and A Qiang's homes, are always open to your arrival. Oh, and of course, Susan is also welcome."
"I definitely will if I have the chance."
"..."
We chatted from noon until the afternoon.
Jiulong was pleasantly surprised to find that Susan seemed quite nervous. She also seemed unsure about Chuanliu and Qianchuan's stance.
Whenever I asked a crucial question, Susan would interrupt and answer first.
Before leaving, Jiulong gestured to Chuanliu and Qianchuan again, extending his right hand to shake hands with each of them.
“Miss Chuanliu, Brother Qian Liu, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ll be staying at the Red Peach Casino for a while longer. Please feel free to come and find me anytime if you need anything.”
As he spoke, he smiled slightly at the two of them, then curled the corners of his mouth in the direction of Susan and Zhuiming before leaving with his men.
Only after Jiulong disappeared from their sight did Susan breathe a sigh of relief. She rubbed her temples with her knuckles, silently pondering the reason for Jiulong's sudden appearance.
Clearly, Jiulong discovered the unreliable relationship between her and Chuanliu and Qianchuan.
Meanwhile, another question was troubling her—why now?
Why is it that Jiulong has put aside his affairs and come to her residence to inquire now?
Why is it now that Jiulong is extending an olive branch to Qianchuan and Chuanliu?
Why is it that Jiulong's door-to-door service has now disrupted the balance that has always been maintained between "9 of Hearts" and "10 of Hearts"?
Everything was too coincidental, and Susan had a vague sense of foreboding.
After everyone had left, Susan summoned the housekeeper and instructed him, "Report any unusual activity at home to me immediately, and have them increase patrols... Also, send someone to talk to '5 of Spades' Sun Qianfan. Tell him I want to discuss a business deal with their henchmen."
"clear."
On the other side, after Jiulong and his group left, he went straight back to his residence.
He waved his men away, then stood alone in the room, taking a small piece of paper out of his pocket.
The note, written in a wild and unrestrained hand, simply read:
"One o'clock, behind the artificial hill. Come alone, otherwise forget it."
Jiulong frowned, recalling the scene of chatting with Chuanliu and Qianchuan in Susan's garden. He had no idea when the note had been slipped into his pocket.
A sense of unease welled up within him; he wondered if there was a trap hidden behind the note.
The location of the artificial hill mentioned in the note was no secret to the people of Red Heart City Manor, but reaching it required navigating a winding maze of trees, enough to deter anyone from even attempting it.
This choice of location only heightened Jiulong's vigilance. He was caught in a dilemma, on the one hand suspecting that this was a trap set by Susan to lure him there alone; on the other hand, he wondered if it might be a clue left by Qian Chuan, who frequently visited Red Peach Manor, hinting at his willingness to cooperate.
If Money String is truly willing to join forces with him, then his plan to eliminate Susan will undoubtedly proceed much more smoothly.
After much deliberation, he arranged a time with his men to return home and prepared to investigate.
As dusk fell, the lights in the manor gradually came on, casting a soft golden hue over the Red Peach Manor in the night.
Jiulong stood alone at the entrance of the maze jungle, looked around, then took a deep breath of the cool air and went inside.
The branches and leaves swayed gently in the night breeze, rustling like an unsolvable riddle. As they ventured deeper into the labyrinth, the surrounding scenery grew increasingly dark, with only the occasional chirping of insects and calls of birds breaking the silence in the distance.
Jiulong's burly body cast a long shadow in the moonlight. He walked through the dizzying maze, guided by his memory, and gradually approached the agreed-upon artificial hill.
When he passed through the last dense forest and arrived at the artificial hill, he saw a figure standing there quietly, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
Jiulong cautiously stepped forward, trying to get a clear look at the person's face.
As the distance closed, he finally saw the person's true face clearly—a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him—Chuanliu.
The girl turned around, a mysterious smile on her face, and nodded to Jiulong.
Jiulong was both puzzled and wary.
He considered that it might be Qian Chuan, or that Qian Chuan might be carrying Chuan Liu and the other person.
But he never expected that the person who left him the note was just the girl in front of him.
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