Xu Manling somehow obtained a pass, allowing Chen Ke and his group to enter the Japanese area without any hindrance.
Although Matsumoto had left Shanghai, the security at home remained tight. Li Gang parked the car in the alley opposite the villa, while Chen Ke and the others waited in the car for Xu Manling's signal.
"Can Miss Xu really manage? This is the foreign concession. What way do we have to sneak in?" Li Guaizi's legs were trembling with nervousness. Although he spoke with concern, he kept praying in his heart that it really wouldn't work.
But as the saying goes, what you pray for often comes true. The once quiet street corner suddenly erupted into a commotion: "Thief! Thief!"
The panicked cries for help were unmistakably Xu Manling's.
As soon as the cries for help rang out, patrolmen immediately came over to inquire. Xu Manling cried and said that her handbag had been stolen.
Open robbery in the foreign concessions?
This was outrageous! The patrolmen immediately organized a search party.
This search led them to the area around Matsumoto's villa.
The guards at the villa entrance, who had been watching the commotion, asked with interest as people approached, "What's going on here?"
"This lady's bag has been stolen, and we are searching for the culprit."
These few words shocked the guards at the gate: "Someone actually dares to rob people inside the concession?"
Xu Manling, patting her chest in fear, said, "Who says it isn't? It's right up ahead. I was robbed right after leaving a party at a friend's house. It scared me to death."
The guard was even more surprised when he saw who was speaking. "This, isn't this Miss Xu?"
"Yes, it's me. Oh dear, did you see a figure running past just now? He was about this taller than me and very thin."
Upon hearing Xu Manling's description, the two who had been watching the show suddenly nodded in agreement.
They did see a figure run past, but they thought it was just someone rushing home and didn't think much of it. Now that Xu Manling mentioned it, it seemed a bit suspicious.
"Ah!" Xu Manling suddenly exclaimed, "I remember that's Mr. Matsumoto's little garden, isn't it? I even told Mr. Matsumoto when we had tea there before that the wall was too low. That thief is running in that direction now..."
Xu Manling covered her mouth in fear halfway through her sentence.
The two guards' expressions changed instantly.
Just then, as if confirming Xu Manling's words, a small patrol team that had just been chasing after the suspects ran back breathlessly. "Captain, we've searched everywhere, but we haven't found any suspicious persons."
The commotion at the door finally alerted the butler, who strode out and, after learning the general outline of what had happened, his expression changed. He immediately sent someone to check the garden. The guard who went to check returned and reported that, sure enough, they found half a footprint on the low wall.
!!
This news shocked and angered the butler. How could someone dare to break into their Japanese area without fear of death?
"Search!" the butler ordered, determined to find and kill this audacious thief!
Across the street from the villa, Chen Ke said softly, "Li Gang, drive the car over there."
"Yes, sir."
Just as Xu Manling and the others were about to go inside, a car slowly drove up, and everyone subconsciously stopped in their tracks.
Chen Ke rolled down the car window, his face showing surprise. "Miss Xu? What... what happened?"
The moment Xu Manling saw Chen Ke, it was as if she had found someone to lean on, and tears streamed down her face again. "Boss Chen, waaaaah... I've been robbed!"
Her heartbroken lament touched the hearts of all the men present, who longed to embrace the delicate and helpless beauty under the moon and offer her comfort.
Since other men couldn't resist, Chen Ke was no different. So he got out of the car without hesitation and comforted Xu Manling.
"Mr. Chen?" The butler recognized Chen Ke, the antique shop owner who had surprised everyone. Mr. Chen had completed the antique sorting work that others had done in three days in just half a day. Although he never came back, Matsumoto still held him in high esteem.
This made the housekeeper very friendly towards Chen Ke, and even in his anxiety, he didn't forget to greet him.
Chen Ke nodded politely to the housekeeper, then comforted Xu Manling while asking what had happened.
Although Xu Manling was crying uncontrollably, she still managed to explain the situation clearly in just a few words. Chen Ke was furious after hearing her story. "How could there be such a reckless thief who dared to openly break into Mr. Matsumoto's house in the Japanese district? Isn't this a blatant provocation against Mr. Matsumoto? We absolutely cannot let him get away with this! Tell Mr. Matsumoto not to be afraid, we'll go help him now!"
Chen Ke was so anxious that he didn't even care about Xu Manling, acting as if he was ready to go to great lengths for his friend.
This scene convinced everyone present that he was genuinely worried about Mr. Matsumoto, to the point that he couldn't even care less about the beautiful woman with tears streaming down her face.
"Oh, Mr. Chen, Mr. Matsumoto isn't home, so there's no danger. But thank you for your kindness. You and Ms. Xu Manling can rest in the lobby for a while. Especially Ms. Xu, she's also a friend of Mr. Matsumoto. She looks quite frightened this time, so please come in and rest."
"I see. Well... alright then, Miss Xu, let's go in together and wait for news. Maybe we'll catch that thief soon."
"Yes, Mr. Chen, you came just in time. You really scared me just now." Xu Manling started crying again as she spoke. Under the moonlight, the beautiful woman was pitiful and tearful. If it weren't for the inappropriate timing, someone would probably have already handed her a handkerchief.
Thus, most of the people's attention was drawn to Xu Manling, and they crowded around the two of them as they walked inside. Behind them, unnoticed by anyone, Li Guaizi, despite his limp, followed very quickly. Then, as everyone entered the room, he darted into the shadows and circled around to the window of the study.
Chen Zhuo, who had been waiting outside the study for a while, gently knocked on the window. Then, Li Guaizi grabbed the window with both hands and swung his legs down below, quickly climbing up in two swift movements.
The moment his hand touched the windowsill, Chen Zhuo grabbed him.
"Your kung fu is quite good."
"Shh! Don't say a word!" Li Guaizi's heart was pounding in his chest. He quickly climbed in through the window and whispered, "There are people down there. They're about to search us. We need to hurry."
Chen Zhuo remained calm, saying, "Why are you telling me this? It's not like I'm the one opening the door. If you're in such a hurry, then hurry up and go."
Li Guaizi didn't have time to say much to Chen Zhuo. He shakily got up and asked, "Where is the door to the study?"
Chen Zhuo held a pipa in one hand and pointed to the door next to him with the other, "Here."
Li Guaizi quickly took out his tools and started opening the door.
So why was it him and Chen Zhuolai?
Damn it, because before he started tomb raiding, he was involved in illegally opening doors!
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