Sold for 300, I Fight Back with Superpowers

When Su Qing returned to the family compound that evening, she was met by a grim-faced Li Fenghuo and Gu Xinsheng. Since the Jin Zhiwei case primarily targeted Su Qing and her grandparents, Li Fenghuo had Shang Yuqi and Li Huan head home first after dinner.

Seeing how serious the two men were, Mrs. Li didn’t feel it was her place to criticize Gu Xinsheng, so she turned to Li Fenghuo. ”Dinner’s over. Why aren’t you going home with your wife? And what’s with the long face? If you scare my Qingqing, you’ll have me to answer to.”

Li Fenghuo said, ”Mom, Xinsheng and I just need to talk to Dad about something.”

”You can talk about things without scowling,” Mrs. Li said. Then she called Su Qing over. ”Qingqing, come here. Let me tell you, Xiao Hui has been so well-behaved. He’s unbelievably clever! All my old friends at the compound were so envious of him today.”

Su Qing had been staying at Xilin Alley for the past few days, so the gray squirrel had been left with the Li family, cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Li.

Hearing Mrs. Li praise him, the gray squirrel proudly puffed out his little chest, its large tail wagging back and forth.

Su Qing smiled and sat down next to Mrs. Li, poking the gray squirrel’s cheek. She laughed and said, ”Grandma, this little guy is especially smart, just like a little kid. If he misbehaves, feel free to give him a spanking.”

Hearing this, the gray squirrel’s eyes widened as it stared at Su Qing. ’That’s not fair!’ it thought. ’Why is she trying to sow discord?’

Seeing the squirrel staring at her in shock, Su Qing suppressed a smile and poked its cheek again. ’Fluffy things really are fun to tease,’ she thought.

Mr. Li then stood up and said to Li Fenghuo and Gu Xinsheng, ”Come on, let’s go to the study.”

”Okay.”

Watching the three men head to the study, Mrs. Li said to Li Wan, ”Xiao Wan, the sweater I knitted for Qingqing is in the room upstairs. Go get it so she can try it on. Since the girl is back today, we can still make alterations if it doesn’t fit. It’ll be ready just in time for the Spring Festival.”

Li Wan, not suspecting a thing, agreed and went upstairs.

Once the two of them were alone in the living room, Mrs. Li whispered to Su Qing, ”Qingqing, is something wrong? Don’t you dare hide it from me. If anything’s happened, you have to tell the family.”

”Grandma, it’s nothing serious,” Su Qing said quickly with a smile. In truth, she guessed that Li Fenghuo and the others must have learned about the Jin Zhiwei case. Since it involved the Li family’s security, they were likely in the study with Mr. Li to discuss that very issue.

”Don’t even think about hiding it from me.” Mrs. Li huffed. ”Your uncle and Uncle Gu kept glancing at you earlier. Whatever they’re discussing today must be about you. Tell Grandma, did someone bully you?”

”No, who would dare bully me?” Su Qing laughed. ”I’d beat them until they couldn’t find their own teeth.”

”Oh, you.” Mrs. Li chuckled at Su Qing’s words. Then she asked again, ”Really, nothing’s wrong?”

”Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m fine.” Su Qing linked her arm with her grandmother’s and rested her head on her shoulder, her eyes narrowing slightly. ’As long as I’m here,’ she thought, ’no one will lay a single finger on the Li family.’

’Now that I’m back at the compound, I don’t plan on going back to Xilin Alley for now. If that so-called Master Zhang dares to make a move, I’ll make sure he lives to regret it.’

With her enhanced hearing, Su Qing could hear the three men’s conversation from the study as clear as day. They were, indeed, talking about the Jin Zhiwei case. But what surprised her was that Master Zhang had actually taken a train and left Beijing overnight!

This was something Su Qing hadn’t expected.

In the study, Li Fenghuo and Gu Xinsheng explained the full story of the Jin Zhiwei case to Mr. Li. Originally, Li Fenghuo had planned to tell the whole family. However, since Master Zhang left Beijing in the middle of last night, he and Gu Xinsheng decided to speak with Mr. Li first. As for Su Qing, they would just have her stay in the compound for the time being. After all, the matter was so bizarre that he was afraid of scaring her. It was better not to tell her if they didn’t have to.

In their eyes, Su Qing was still just a child. She might have some skills, but no matter how capable, she was still a kid. It was up to them, the adults, to stand in front and shield her from such matters.

After Li Fenghuo and Gu Xinsheng finished, Mr. Li’s expression was grave. ”So, you’re saying that person was targeting Qingqing?”

”It seems so for now,” Li Fenghuo said hurriedly. ”And the perpetrator’s methods are very strange. Luckily, someone delivered Jin Zhicheng to the police headquarters in the middle of the night, which brought the situation under control for the time being. But the mastermind is still at large, so we need to be on high alert, especially for Qingqing’s safety. They were also targeting you, sir. That’s why I wanted to tell you first, so the family can be on guard and not give them any openings to exploit.”

”Mm, you did the right thing,” Mr. Li said, nodding gravely. ”The priority now is to protect Qingqing. We need to find an excuse to keep her from leaving the compound for a while. It’s safer here, after all. With the guards at the gate, unauthorized people can’t get in. If we also raise our own vigilance, we can surely keep her safe.”

”Yes, that’s what I was thinking too. We just need to come up with a reason.” Li Fenghuo was troubled. He didn’t want to tell Su Qing the truth for fear of scaring her, but they needed a plausible excuse to keep her from leaving the compound.

For a moment, all three men fell silent.

”Let’s give the reason some more thought,” Mr. Li said again. ”Also, the person who delivered Jin Zhicheng to the police headquarters—who were they? Have you found out? Perhaps they know the inside story. If we can find them, we might get a new lead in this case.”

”Not yet,” Gu Xinsheng said. ”However, the officer on duty mentioned seeing a vine tendril rapidly retreating. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but Big Brother and I don’t think so. This person must also have some extraordinary abilities. In fact, I suspect this is the same person who saved me once. They’re a friend, not a foe. Big Brother and I were just thinking we need to find this person as soon as possible. It would be ideal if they would be willing to protect Qingqing for a while.”

With that, Gu Xinsheng recounted to Mr. Li the story of how he was saved last year in the mountains when a vine wrapped around him. Mr. Li may have come from a military background, but he had always been sharp despite his rough exterior, and he was very experienced. Maybe he’d be more insightful than the two of them put together.

Even if Mr. Li didn’t have an idea right away, surely three heads would be better than one.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Su Qing, who was trying on the sweater, froze.

’What!’

’The police officer on duty saw the retreating vine?!’

’To avoid arousing suspicion, I’d withdrawn the vines immediately after alerting the officer. I can’t believe he was sharp-eyed enough to actually see it!’

’And the most crucial part is, my uncle and Uncle Gu connected it to that incident in the mountains last year!’

Suddenly, Su Qing had the feeling that her cover was about to be blown. And Mr. Li’s next words made Su Qing suck in a sharp breath.