Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 267: Chapter 264: Swindler Vendor

Having sat at Jade Beauty for a while, Huo Sining stood up and left.

No sooner had she left the store than she saw a sneaky figure crouching out of an alleyway across the street.

Huo Sining, with her eagle eyes, instantly recognized the figure as familiar and, noticing the dirty yellow snakeskin bag in the person’s hand, she was immediately delighted.

”Hey, dude up front, wait a second, I—”

Just as Huo Sining began to speak, the person turned their head, glanced at Huo Sining, and then, as if terrified, turned and ran.

Huo Sining was instantly flabbergasted. She hadn’t even finished speaking. What was with this person, running from everyone they see?

Huo Sining, in her agitation, started stomping her feet and without overthinking, she took off in pursuit of the figure.

Fortunately, with the Water-Repelling Pearl as her godly artifact, Huo Sining had previously boasted her running skills during the military training for new students, even earning the acknowledgment of the head instructor, Chen Deping. So catching up to a street vendor was a piece of cake for her.

The further she ran, the fewer the stalls became, and the stream of people vanished, but the more Huo Sining ran, the less she understood what she was doing. Was she really chasing a street vendor this far just for fun?

Not only did Huo Sining find it strange, but the vendor frantically sprinting ahead was also puzzled.

After running for more than ten minutes, the vendor, no matter how agile, couldn’t outpace the freakishly enduring Huo Sining, who hadn’t slowed down since the start of the chase and had even picked up speed.

Unable to keep up any longer, the vendor ended up in an alley cluttered with miscellaneous items and finally stopped, panting and pleading:

”Big sister, you’re amazing, I give up. Whatever I sold to you, I’ll pay back at the original price, okay? Let’s just call it quits, shall we?”

As soon as Huo Sining heard this, she couldn’t help but break into laughter, thinking back to a scene at the entrance of Antique Street when a middle-aged man chased the vendor yelling ”swindler.” She instantly understood the crux of the matter.

No wonder the vendor bolted the moment she called him to wait—they were up to something shady and scared of their creditors.

There were many vendors on Antique Street, but there was also an abundance of high-quality counterfeit goods; unless one had great skill and a sharp eye, it was easy to be deceived.

That’s the rule of this game: antique hunting was about keen eyesight and the excitement and thrill of snagging a bargain. The risks were high, and ordinary people who wanted to get rich quick without paying their dues... where in this world could they find such an easy deal?

Therefore, Huo Sining didn’t think the vendor was incredibly vile; on the contrary, his cowardly behavior of running at the sight of a customer was almost endearing to her, and she found him quite amusing.

But having chased him all this way, she had no intention of letting him off the hook that easily.

After a moment’s thought, her eyes twinkled with mischief, and she came up with a mischievous plan. Struggling to keep a straight face, she said sternly:

”You make me chase you all this way and only offer to compensate at the original price? If I hadn’t caught you, you wouldn’t even think to pay me back, right? You think it’s that easy?”

Upon hearing this, the vendor’s face fell, and his eyes filled with a mix of desperation and plea as he looked at Huo Sining:

”Madam, it’s really not easy for me to run my small business. Could you please show me some mercy? My grandmother is seriously ill, and I had no choice but to do this to make ends meet.”

Huo Sining looked at the vendor with disdain: ”If you’re going to make excuses, at least come up with something original. Nine out of ten bad guys plead by saying they have family to care for, but when you were swindling, did you think about that?”

The hawker was so anxious he was about to cry, ”Sister, I really didn’t lie to you. My grandma is truly lying in the hospital. The hospital is pushing for it urgently, and I was just about to send her the surgery fee.”

Huo Sining looked at the hawker with suspicion, ”Really?”

The hawker nodded vigorously like pounding garlic, ”Really, if you don’t believe me, you can come and see for yourself. She’s in the oncology department of the Fourth Hospital.”

Huo Sining saw the hawker’s eyes were sincere and didn’t seem to be lying, so she believed him somewhat.

She nodded her head, about to explain her purpose for being there. However, just at that moment, footsteps and voices suddenly came from an alley behind them, ”Someone just said they saw that kid heading this way!”

The hawker’s face changed drastically, he was scared stiff, and he reached out to cover Huo Sining’s mouth and pulled her behind a pile of sundries to hide.

Huo Sining, with her careful thoughts, didn’t struggle after the hawker covered her mouth, letting him drag her to hide behind the pile of sundries.

The hawker was somewhat surprised to see Huo Sining so cooperative. He quickly let go of her and gestured urgently with his hand, signaling her to be quiet.

Huo Sining nodded to show she understood.

Just as they crouched down to conceal themselves, three men ran into the alley entrance.

Huo Sining saw through the gaps in the sundries three fierce young men walking in, iron rods in hand and looks of menace on their faces.

”Damn it, where is he, he slipped away again?!”

”Go over there and check, search carefully!”

One of the men directed the others toward the pile of sundries where Huo Sining and the hawker were hiding.

Huo Sining’s eyes widened - given the relentless pursuit, it seemed the issue was quite serious.

At that moment, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of a laugh and a cry. The group had already searched their way here. If she hid with the hawker, would she be mistaken as being in cahoots with him?

Huo Sining’s heart tightened, feeling that she certainly was having an unlucky day, as if she didn’t consult the almanac before leaving home.

Just when Huo Sining thought her day was doomed, the hawker behind her tapped her shoulder and gestured to her. He swiftly and skillfully moved a wooden plank at the wall, revealing a dark hole.

It was probably a dog hole, but the bricks at the entrance were damaged, turning what was a small hole into a larger one, big enough for a person to crawl through.

The hole was concealed by the wooden plank, so it generally went unnoticed.

The hawker didn’t say a word but quickly pointed at the hole, indicating that Huo Sining should hurry and crawl through.

Huo Sining had never crawled through a dog hole in her life, and the thought felt quite ridiculous.

But she knew this wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters. Hearing the footsteps getting closer, she didn’t hesitate and quickly bent down to crawl through the hole.

After Huo Sining crawled out, the hawker followed swiftly, making sure to cover the hole with the wooden plank he had moved earlier, restoring it to its original state. He wasn’t satisfied yet and moved a large stone from the wall to block the hole.